Jaded Through Time
by dippytrippy122
Summary: A different result at the end of the fifth trial leads to Makoto escaping Hopes Peak alone. After discovering some notes from his fellow Ultimates', the Luckster decides to fix things. Before they ever happened. A story about a young man trying to fix past mistakes, and, in the process, his own mind.
1. Live and Let Die

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Danganronpa or anything related to it.

* * *

**Prologue: Live and Let Die**

Everyone choked on air as the results were shown around the room. The deductions seemed perfect. Or, at least, they were as good as they could be, given the circumstances. Kyoko Kirigiri was the only one who could have killed the mysterious sixteenth student Mukuro Ikusaba.

And, yet-

"Man, you guys really blew it at the last second, didn't you?" The monochrome bear sighed mockingly. "The blackened this time was Makoto Naegi; who has now been granted the right to graduate!"

No one said anything. How could they? This just couldn't be real.

"N-no! That's not possible!"

Even Byakuya's voice was shaky. Truth be told he had not suspected any of his classmates, but Kyoko was the one with the worst alibi, so naturally the blame fell on her.

Had he actually made a mistake?

"Naegi, how could you!?"

Aoi's cries fell on deaf ears as the Ultimate Lucky student stood shell-shocked from the announcement.

'_How…? How can this be…? I didn't do anything!'_

Tears rolled down his cheeks as his mind attempted to catch up to the situation on hand. Of course, he wouldn't get any answers to his questions. Why would he? He had yet to receive any thus far in the 'game', why start now.

"Upupupu, 'how could he' you say?" Monokuma smiled gleefully. "Well it's rather simple kiddo's; he killed her. Nothing more, nothing less." He shook his head sadly. "Geez it's like you kids aren't used to this yet."

His grin was bloody.

"Well, I guess that doesn't matter anymore, now does it? Upupupu-!"

Makoto snapped out of it.

"BUT THAT'S WRONG! I-!"

"Okay that's enough stalling," the bear cut him off. "It's time for your graduation ceremony, Makoto-kun!"

The faces of his classmates in that moment, he could never forget. Aoi's expression of complete betrayal. Byakuyas' shell-shocked expression. He probably figured himself to be invincible.

Not here he wasn't.

Hiro was sitting in the corner praying to some non-existent deity to save him. It didn't help.

Toko looked to be convulsing as her personalities continued switching rapidly.

And Kyoko-

"I know it wasn't you."

He turned to stare at the still-emotionless mask of the pink-haired girl in front of him.

"What do you-?"

"You didn't kill Mukuro Ikusaba. I believe in you." She gave a small smile. "I don't need evidence to feel assured of that fact."

Within the span of a second she placed a key alongside a rolled-up piece of paper into his hand and leaned in close.

"You can fix this. I believe in you, Naegi-kun."

It was in this moment that five metal arms pulled the five unwilling students away. Makoto could only stare at the screen in front of him as his heart broke in two.

The last word ever spoken by Kyoko haunting his mind.

"Goodbye."

**Game Over**

**Byakuya, Toko, Aoi, Yasuhiro and Kyoko have all been found guilty**

**Time for the Punishment****!  
**

…

…

…

The execution was horrible. No, it was worse than that. 'Horrible' was a nice word for something as _impossible _as what he saw. It was as if the mastermind pulled out all the stops; making the final 'event' the most despair-inducing thing he had ever bore witness to.

If that was in fact their plan, they succeeded. Whoever the hell they were.

His classmates' deaths weren't done in ironic fashion like they had been previously. Instead of giving their deaths some form of semblance to their talents, it was just a complete massacre of Monokuma robots. It was bloody, it was gruesome.

It was uninspired.

Makoto thought, as a self-deprecating laugh found its way through his throat. How else was he supposed to react? Was he supposed to wince when Byakuya's leg got impaled; or was he meant to wait and do that after he was dog-piled and torn apart. Was his sense of empathy lacking when he had no reaction to Hiro trying in vain to pull the bears off Aoi and Toko only to be overwhelmed and ripped limb from limb? Or maybe he was supposed to start sobbing when Kyoko, the final survivor, made eye-contact with the camera before being stabbed from every conceivable orifice.

Makoto didn't know, he couldn't tell anymore. He was fully numb now. It was as if he no longer felt anything really.

He didn't even notice the cameras powering off, nor did he hear the voice until it was directly behind him.

"Makoto-kunnnnnn! I hope you enjoyed the show!"

Turning blankly away from the screen Makoto was brought face-to-face with an unearthly beauty. Long pink hair tied down two separate ways, a buxom figure and the most plastic smile he had ever seen.

A spark of realization passed by his face.

"Enoshima-san…? You're the mastermind…?"

She looked surprised by the tone of his voice for a second before recovering.

"Yup, yup! That poor excuse for a girl that you met at the start was my sister Mukuro Ikusaba!" She grinned. "Of course, she was already dead so this trial held no real meaning."

Makoto stared at her, no sense of emotion passing by his eyes.

"I see. So then why was I chosen to be let go?" He walked up to her, standing a good deal below her in height. "Why me? Surely you could have spun it so someone else would have been the one to leave. Since you obviously don't give a shit about the rules-"

"Ah contraire my dear Makoto-kun!" Pulling glasses from seemingly out of nowhere she began to lecture him. "You see, it has come to my attention that out of everyone here, even above Kyoko-chan, YOU were the real issue here."

He cocked his head to the side.

"Me?"

Internally, Makoto realized that he should be feeling some form of anger towards the person in front of him. But… he just felt too gone.

Too done.

"Yes, yes!" the girl continued excitedly. "You with your hope-filled speeches, surprisingly effective deductive reasoning and that sickening never-die attitude… I needed you gone." Her smile grew farther. "Of course, this serves another purpose but before that…"

The mastermind went on a tirade. A laundry list of explanations behind her plan, an explanation of the world outside including the hostage situation in Towa City. For the first time during this whole mess Makoto felt a twinge of happiness at hearing his sisters' safety.

Though that ended quickly.

"And that is why I decided to keep you alive, and only you!"

Makoto was confused.

"How does that make sense? If anything, having more people to oppose your reign sounds like it would just be problematic to you."

She grinned.

"Ah, yes. On paper that would be true. However, this 'Future Foundation' I've been telling you about has been watching the entire broadcast up until the end of the execution. The camera's only shut off before I approached you, after all." She paused for dramatic effect. "What would they think of you now?"

Ah. That was her plan.

Simple really, but executed in a way that would leave no sign of her interference. Turning him into a martyr for both sides; someone who opposed despair but still fell for it at the last second. After all, to them, he killed his classmates to escape.

He would get no help from either team, then. He was screwed.

"As you probably figured out, they will never accept you and your friends are, of course, dead." She put a finger to her chin. "And if you're thinking about getting your little sister to safety, don't bother. I have a contingency plan in effect for her too. I wouldn't expect her to survive much longer, if I'm honest."

Makoto knew he should have asked for details, but it was pointless. There was nothing he could do about it after all. Komaru was just another person he inadvertently helped kill.

…

"Sooooooo? Have you fallen into despair yet?"

He considered the question, not realizing it was rhetorical. He had no way of knowing this, however. Junko had ensured that Makoto had been given maximum exposure to Ryota's finest work. So, there was simply no way that-

"No."

It was quiet, so quiet that Junko almost didn't hear it. She looked at him, expression barren from her face.

"What did you say-?"

"I said no. I have not fallen into despair." He paused as if to formulate his words. "I just don't feel hope right now either… it's empty."

A spark of intrigue entered the girls' eyes. _'An outlier, this late in the game…?' _The second person to resist Ryota's videos. Interesting. Interesting… but not enough for her.

She shrugged.

"Well whatever. Truthfully I don't really care about you anymore Makoto-kun so I'll give you a friendly word of advice." She smiled brightly. "Get out of the city as fast as you can if you want to avoid the remnants and the Future Foundation. Like I said, I don't give a shit about you, but consider this warning an additional prize for clearing Hope's Peak."

A wave, "ja ne!" and she was gone.

Makoto stared at the spot for a while longer.

His mind was in disarray and the numbness had spread farther.

Now what?

* * *

It must have been a good ten minutes before the boy decided to leave the trial grounds and head back upstairs. As he walked down the hall he stared blankly at the two items he fished from his pocket.

The Monokuma key and some crumpled piece of paper…?

It looked like instructions.

'The headmaster's private room. Under keyboard.'

What…?

Well, he figured he still had a bit of time if he hurried. Picking up speed he reached the fourth floor and opened the door carefully. Half-expecting to find the pink-haired mastermind inside he was pleasantly surprised to find it empty.

However-

"It's not here?"

Did Junko find it first and dispose of it? For some reason, that seemed unlikely to the boy. Kyoko gave this to him as a last wish. If it were discovered immediately after being handed over, that would have been anti-climactic, to say the least. On top of that, he held serious doubts that the mysterious student had been discovered.

She always defied his expectations, after all.

"So, does that mean the Headmaster's private room is another place entirely?"

It seemed plausible. After all, the place where someone worked was generally not the place where they would relax.

If so…

"Perhaps it's in the one area I haven't explored yet."

While there were rooms he had yet to open; such as the control room and bio lab, Junko had already told him what they were used for so he figured they were irrelevant.

The second floor of the dorms on the other hand-

"Here. It's gotta be here."

An alien spark of excitement coursed through his bones as he trudged through the ruins and arrived at the immaculately kept door in front of him. Baiting his breath, he used the key in his hand to unlock it and was met with a room that looked far nicer than anything around it. Taking a quick scan around, he spotted the computer with ease.

Approaching it cautiously he lifted the keyboard up and was met with a small sticky note.

'2nd shelf, alcoholic cabinet.'

He had seen it when he walked in. A small cupboard in the middle of the room, with a variety of different bottles lining its shelves. Approaching it slowly, he unlatched the clasp and pushed some of them aside.

Behind them were two books, both incredibly lengthy, and both missing author names.

The concept of time traveling written by the Ultimate Physicist in partnership with the Ultimate Neurologist and the-.

The basics of survival and advancements, written by the Ultimate Survivor in partnership with the Ultimate Adventurer and the-.

"What the hell is this?"

If Makoto was honest, he had no idea what he was looking at. What was he meant to do with this?

Or in another manner of speaking, why did Kyoko specifically set these two books aside and why were they here in the first place?

He decided that at the present moment it mattered very little. He had to hurry and escape as soon as he could.

Picking them up a small note fall out of the top book.

'Under the couch.'

Sighing at the game of cat and mouse he decided to do as it says and looked underneath the piece of furniture. What met him, was a well-made backpack that looked to be designed specifically for hiking.

Opening the front pouch, he saw a lighter, canteen, and a survival knife. Things he would certainly need if he intended to survive long-term.

Did his luck finally decide to give him a break?

He chuckled mirthlessly. After everything he had gone through, his luck owed him a hell of a lot more than this, but it was a start at least.

Stuffing the books, alongside some of the expensive looking alcohol into his bag, he darted out of the room. If he was going to survive this, he should do his best to grab all the supplies he could before leaving the school.

Thinking ahead, before heading downstairs grabbed a couple packages of seeds from the greenhouse. Cities, if what Junko said were true, had all been overrun. As such, making it in the long-term would require him to make his home in nature.

Checklist still in mind, he darted towards the cafeteria and loaded up on as many non-perishables that he could stuff into the pouches, being sure to fill up his canteen as well.

His room was the final step before freedom. Taking a spare set of clothes into his bag he was impressed by the amount it was able to hold. Grabbing his toothbrush and other essentials he looked into the mirror one last time.

A spark of determination was there. A chance.

Hope wasn't lost.

* * *

It had been a few days since Makoto had left Hopes Peak academy. Thankfully, due to his small frame he was able to get away from the distant factions without concern. Furthermore, he was never one to gouge himself on food so the items he took should last him for a good while longer.

He hoped.

The survival book, thankfully, had a map of the areas surrounding Hopes Peak, and in quite exquisite detail too. It wasn't hard to get out of the city and into a forest-based area.

Finding a cave at the edge of his vision, Makoto sighed in relief before running towards it and holding himself inside. Thankfully, there were no wild animals in the area for him to worry about.

Another bi-product of his luck trying to help fix things? He found the concept laughable at best.

He was thankful once more that it was summer so he didn't have to worry about starting a fire in an area just outside the city. He did not want to alert anyone to his current location. Though, he already had a few close calls.

Taking a place by some rocks he began flipping through the survival book. A quick glance through the pages showed just how beneficial it would truly be to his success. Not only that, but it was laid out in a simple manner that even someone as painfully average as he could understand.

It was… good.

Not long after settling down, however, he heard the tell-tale signs of an alarm going off in the distance. The Future Foundation task-force was closing in on him it seems. Sighing to himself he put everything back in his bag and left the cave; preparing to head further off the map in the direction the book claimed to be less population-dense.

He could only hope.

* * *

A year. It had been one full year since the worst day of his life and he had become an unwilling refugee in a world that had ended. Today also marked four months since the last time he had heard that damned Future Foundation alarm. He assumed that meant the organization finally bit the dust. Which, while that was good for him as it meant fewer people chasing him; it was a double-edged sword since they were _technically_ meant to be the good guys trying to counteract the end of the world.

Fat lot of good that did them.

Makoto snorted as he continued sharpening his knife.

"I gotta hand it to them, they were persistent while it lasted."

The area the Luckster had finally decided on was as secluded as one could hope for. Surrounded on all sides by trees, there was a small lake for baths and a small cabin he built nearby for shelter.

All in all, it was perfect for an introverted recluse like himself.

"Look at me, the world's ending around me and I've become a hermit."

The young man chuckled lightly in derision before sighing. He was almost nineteen years old now and finally reached his growth spurt he had been dreaming of for years.

'_Though there's no one left to see such a thing, is there?'_

He shook his head. No. There's no sense in worrying about what he could have changed. Because in all honesty, what _could _he have realistically done?

"Nothing."

That was always the answer he came back to each time. While he knew that he was no longer as optimistic as he once was, he wasn't someone to give up on things just because they were difficult either.

Still.

"What's done is done. Now, lets get some lunch ready."

He had decided to sleep in later today, resting after yesterday's workout session. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure why he continued to go through such rigorous training segments. There was no one left to protect anymore. He hadn't even been near another person in over half a year, a sane one far longer ago than that.

Still, his days were like clockwork, so why stop now?

Plus, looking down at the growing muscle definition, he could definitely see himself with noticeable abs within another year of this. Though, again, who would care by that point.

Certainly not him.

Starting a small fire, he began to cook some fish he caught the other day from a nearby stream. While not one of his favourites in the past, he had grown to appreciate the flavours when cooked properly as the survival guide instructed him.

The book was honestly a Godsend.

If he didn't have it, he would have died months ago. His basic instincts for survival would have only taken him so far and he was eternally grateful to the girl that inadvertently got him here.

"Kirigiri-san…"

Of course, there was another book he took with him. Though, he had yet to actually dive into it past the introduction. It was just so… far-fetched. Not to mention complicated. Plus, what was someone like him supposed to do about it.

He knew the idea, of course. He did understand what Kyoko intended for him to do. Or, herself, if she had managed to survive everything. Go back in time and stop Junko before anything happened.

Not for the first time, he wished his far more intelligent friend had been the one to make it. Not him.

Because in his mind, there was no way he could do it.

If he had been asked to do it, had he known about the situation, months ago; then he would have certainly considered it.

Now though?

"What's even the point." He muttered. "There is no way I could learn something as complex as the science behind time travel. And even… even if I could, I'm not… I'm not someone who could really make a difference."

It was an excuse. He knew that.

He was just scared.

Terrified, even.

Makoto was aware the chances of actually figuring out time travel of all things to be a nearly impossible task. He figured, it was better to not try at all than to get close but fail at the end. Plus, the amount of trial and error it would take was ridiculous. The amount of time required was astronomical. Impossible for him.

Right?

He scoffed and took a shot of alcohol from his shot glass, a bad habit he picked up from his months of isolation.

No, that wasn't right at all.

There is a good chance that he was one of the last sane people left on this God-forsaken planet and if that's the case then all he had left was time.

He flipped the book open.

Might as well make the most of it.

* * *

Two and a half years. A good year and a half since he threw himself into the basics of research, which was a year since he initially fled from Hopes Peak.

God, has it really been that long?

Gone was the naïve Luckster who just wanted to fit in. He died years ago, in his mind. Personality-wise he had become far more self-deprecating, but smarter. Far smarter.

The basics of science was no longer something he even considered a minor struggle. Gone were the years of mathematics being the bane of his existence. He almost laughed at the thought.

In fact, aside from his _minor _alcoholic problem, he was probably all the better for it.

It had been over a month, after all, since he managed to crack the code and finished the creation of his time machine.

It was a simple little thing. Nothing at all like the design of the grandiose air purifier Junko had tried to convince them of. No, instead it took the form of a small watch which fit snugly around his wrist. It was thrown together with scraps of metal and other minerals he found from scavenging far away towns and underneath the cave systems nearby.

Of course, he had yet to actually test it out but the fundamentals were all there. So theoretically it _should _work.

"Well… it had better, after all this time."

He looked around him. His luck was meant to run out eventually, he guessed. Somehow his peaceful secluded area had been tracked down by the remnants. He had no choice but to abandon it.

'_After all this damn time, they're still chasing after me.'_

He sighed. There was no use whining about it now, that was three whole days ago and he could only knock them out so many times before they start coming at him as a complete unit.

Though, Makoto couldn't keep the cocky grin from coming on his face at the thought that he had actually managed to best them all in one on one combat. Even Nidai and Owari had been beaten, albeit barely.

'_Though, I'd rather not take my chances if they all came at me at once.'_

On top of everything he had to leave behind his shelter, supply of water as well as his garden. This left him with little to no hope of surviving for any serious length of time.

Judging by the sounds closing in on his position, however, that was the least of his worries.

"Ah! There, you are Makoto-chan, it's been so long!" Junko cocked her head to the side in intrigue. "Damn boy you finally grew up. It's too bad I gotta kill ya! You look hella fine."

Opening his eyes, the Luckster stood up and raised an eyebrow at the approaching group, ignoring the fashionista's comments.

"Quite the colourful cast you've accrued for yourself there, Enoshima-san. Fits you and your multiple personalities quite well, I must say."

Blinking at his statement she could not stop the grin from appearing on her face.

"I suppose you're right. Though, we aren't here to chat as you could probably guess."

Looking at the others surrounding her, he narrowed his eyes at their expressions. Madness and anger being the only ones prevalent for him to see.

Lovely.

"Here to kill me, huh? The last remnant of hope left in this world?"

A smile stretched across her face.

"Yes, yes! Oh, you know me so well Makoto-chan." Her expression changed to a pout. "I'm amazed you managed to elude me for so long though. You really are lucky, you know that?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a mirthless smile.

"I suppose I am. Though you're really going to kill me? The last hope this world has?" He sighed.

"How boring."

Boring. The word Junko Enoshima hated above all else, and Makoto knew this very well.

"You say that Makoto-kun… but you are my final conquest. I simply cannot wait to rip apart any semblance of hope from you."

He grinned.

"Hm, is that so?" he asked mockingly. "Fine then. So, am I allowed any last words? For old time sake?"

Motioning for her group to stand back she studied him for a moment before nodding.

"I can grant you that before I give you my final execution." She paused as glasses materialized on her face. "I can promise you that it won't be pleasant."

Makoto laughed.

"Well, I suppose I'll limit myself to only two words then."

Holding up his watch he grinned as her eyes widened in stunned realization.

"Ja, ne!"

Makoto Naegi was no more.

* * *

**A/N: **And here is the prologue to a little plot bunny that's been jumping around in my mind for months now. I am far from abandoning my main story, The Ultimate Assistant, (that'll always have my focus), I just figured I could give you guys something extra to read as a birthday present from me to you X).

This story will purposefully have a lot of clichés in it, as a means to light up the darker overtones of the plot so don't worry if some aspects of it sound like things you've heard before. It's intentional :P.

Let me know what you think by reviewing! I love hearing what you have to say. Though I doubt this story will garner much of a response lol.

See ya next time! :D


	2. Orientation Day

**Disclaimer: **Danganronpa will never be owned by me. :(

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Orientation Day**

"Ngh… where the hell am I…?"

Makoto jumped out of bed suddenly, looking around wildly. A familiar landscape surrounded him as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm back in my old room, huh?"

Logically, it made sense. He wasn't sure exactly how far back he'd jumped, but at least he made it to the place he intended to. A quick examination of his body revealed, to his surprise, no physical changes.

"My body made the jump too…? That's odd."

Odd? Yes. Unwelcome? No. In fact, he probably preferred it. Starting from scratch sounded… undesirable.

A knock on his door cut off that train of thought.

"Onii-chan, are you doing okay in there?

'_Komaru…'_

Makoto smiled fondly at the voice of his sister. It was just as he remembered it before the memory wipe. A stray tear fell down his cheek.

He really did it.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that imoto; I'm just a little tired is all."

There was silence for a few seconds before he heard a quiet "okay". Closing his eyes, he laid back down for a moment. Sparing a quick glance at his bedside table he picked up the mobile that had been charging and flicked through to view the calendar.

"Huh, orientation is today. I couldn't have picked a better time to jump to." 'Picked' being relative. He had no way of choosing the exact day, after all, only a general timeframe.

Picking himself up he walked towards his wardrobe with the intent of getting ready for school.

"Crap."

Before realizing that all his clothes were now too small for his newly toned, (and far taller), body.

Thankfully, while he had grown up, he was only at around 5'10 which was not even close to the tallest in his upcoming class.

Still…

"I guess I've gotta face the music now and get a new uniform before it's too late."

Rubbing the back of his head he cursed under his breath before closing the door behind him.

This was gonna suck.

* * *

Well, he wasn't wrong.

"EHHHHHHH!? ONII-CHAN, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

Sighing at the stunned expressions marring his family's faces, he attempted to fabricate a believable lie.

"I have kind of been working out in secret for quite a while now. I was just sick of being scrawny and wanted a change of pace, I guess. I've been wearing baggy clothes to hide it though." He motioned towards his now-shirtless physique. "As for my height, I think I had a freak of a growth spurt last night. Honestly, I'm just as confused as you guys right now."

He knew he wasn't talking the way he used to, but he hoped his family wouldn't question him on that for the moment.

Luckily, they didn't.

"I see. Well dear this is all very… unexpected." His mother began. "Though it looks as if the results paid off! I mean just look at you!"

Her husband grinned in agreement. "Yes, you're looking a hell of a lot more like your old man now. Very handsome."

"It's true Onii-chan!" Komaru's eyes were wide with amazement. "You look great! Just like one of those models in a magazine!"

Makoto could not stop the blush from spreading to his cheeks. Years of social seclusion did not help him when it came to receiving compliments from those he cared about.

"Ah, well thanks guys." He smiled warmly. "But sadly, this makes my current uniform pretty much worthless. Do you think we could pick up a new set before my classes start?"

Agreeing, the family got ready to head out early.

Walking to the kitchen Makoto picked up some fruit and got a piece of toast ready to have on the go.

'_Usually this would be the time of day where I'd pop a shot of alcohol to keep me going.'_

Makoto sighed. He had become addicted to the stuff during his stint out in the wilds. From the headmaster's stash to the bottles he had found from raiding far-off towns, the term 'alcoholic' was generous at this point.

'_It's gonna be one hell of a habit to kick, that's for sure.'_

If he even wanted to. He was sure he could pass as an adult in some circles. He technically _was _twenty years old after all.

Maybe he could use this to his advantage-?

"Onii-chan we're ready to leave! Let's go!"

Shaking his head, the Luckster grabbed some food and darted out of the kitchen. Rolling a suitcase full of his belongings out the door, Makoto felt the tell-tale spark of excitement building up inside him.

Time to head back to school.

* * *

After a rather… interesting clothes-fitting session which left both the worker and sadly his sister blushing heavily, they headed towards the main gates of the school grounds.

"Alright sport, this is it. Knock 'em dead."

Ruffling his son's hair affectionately, Makoto's father stood back. His mother followed.

"We're so proud of you honey. We know you'll do amazingly well." She kissed his forehead. "Call us anytime you want to, alright?"

Komaru quickly took the place of her mother and hugged Makoto as tight as she could. While surprised, he smiled fondly down at her and returned the embrace.

"We'll miss you Onii-chan… come visit me-us soon, okay?"

His smile widened at the slip-up, planting a chaste kiss on the crown of her head.

"Of course. I promise."

Looking up at his face as if to try and find any form of deception, she smiled brightly before disentangling herself from him.

"Alright." Makoto smiled as he turned and walked inside. "Let's go."

* * *

It wasn't long before his registration was done and he was sat in the front row of the assembly building, his bags safely tucked away back in his room.

It was in this moment that he realized a serious problem with time travel.

"Naegi-kun!? Is that really you!?"

Having to deal with his classmates… again.

At least the despair sisters were set to arrive a few days late. He considered that fact lucky but knew Junko more than likely had a reason for it.

'_She always does.'_

Sighing heavily, Makoto lamented, not for the first time, on how ironic it was that someone as reclusive as him was left to be the one to fix things.

Could someone like that really be considered lucky? He knew the answer to that; he was able to get here with no repercussions, so of course he was.

But did his classmates really need to be so loud…?

"Ah, yeah I am." He smiled weakly. "Hey Maizono-san. You been doing well?"

Her smile could have lit up a room, but all it served to do was resurface bad memories.

"It really is you!" she continued on excitedly, a blush dusting her cheeks. "You got so tall! And, uh-" she coughed. "Well, um, you remember me, right? I'm so happy we're in the same class as one another."

Internally Makoto tried to separate the girl in front of him from the one haunting his memories. This was not the same girl that betrayed his trust in the killing game. She wasn't. He knew that.

But damnit if it wasn't hard to constantly make the connection.

"I'm happy too." He lied. "It'll be nice to be able to talk to someone I know. I'm not the most social person out there, after all."

"Yay!" She exclaimed. "So why were you scouted for our class, anyway? What's your Ultimate talent? I'm the-"

"Ultimate Pop Sensation, I know." He cut her off. "Everyone knows who you are Maizono-san. Your talent is incredible. Me on the other hand? I was just chosen by luck. There's nothing special about me, honestly."

Sayaka opened her mouth to voice a disagreement before being interrupted by the young man behind the podium.

"Attention everyone. Please be quiet as Headmaster Kirigiri shares details about the upcoming school year."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at the attractive white-haired man currently giving instructions.

'_Kyosuke Munakata.'_

Alongside Kazuo Tengan and Chisa Yukizome, he was one of three people Makoto knew the most about that would go on to form the Future Foundation. Granted, the information he had on everyone else had been given to him by Junko, (or outdated documents), so its reliability was spotty at best.

But still.

'_The Ultimate Student Council President, huh?' _he chuckled internally. _'And here I thought Ultimate Lucky Student was dumb. How the hell is being the president of the student council an ability?'_

Eyeing his fellow classmates that had taken up the seats around them, he sized Taka up.

'_Now that's more what I imagine when I think of an education-based talent. The perfect student. A model member of society.' _Far different from himself, that's for sure._ 'It sounded impressive.'_

And troublesome.

"Thank you, Munakata-kun." A deep voice sounded from the stage. "Now then, let me begin by saying welcome to you all…"

Makoto couldn't force himself to stay awake past that.

* * *

"Naegi-kun…? Naegi-kun!"

A pause.

"NAEGI-KUN, WAKE UP!"

"GAH!"

Jumping up from his seat he turned towards the offending voice and was brought face-to-face with a pouting Sayaka. Idly he noticed that directly behind her, the rest of his classmates were looking at him with varied expressions of amusement, annoyance and/or indifference.

Stretching with an over-dramatic yawn he blinked.

"Did you have to wake me up, Maizono-san? I was having a wonderful dream."

He was joking, of course. He hadn't had anything but nightmares for years.

Though she didn't need to know that.

"Mou, you can't just brush something like this off, you know? This is a big deal!"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"My bad, sorry about that. Are we heading to class now then, or are we off for the day?"

Exchanging glances with the rest of her classmates she looked at him with an exasperated expression.

"You were asleep for the whole thing, weren't you?" He just grinned in response. "Well… no, we don't have classes today but-"

"Ah, perfect! See you guys tomorrow then!"

Everyone blinked, astounded at Makoto's speed. Looking over at the door to the auditorium they watched as he whistled a merry tune and walked away.

What-

"How the hell did he get there so fast?"

Leon's question spurred on talk from the group as Kyoko addressed their idol.

"Maizono-san, you said that Naegi-san's talent was luck, correct…?"

The blue-haired idol blinked.

"I mean… that's what he said. It makes sense since each class gets one but…"

She trailed off.

Everyone was stumped by the rather sudden dismissal and show of abilities from their new classmate.

What just happened?

* * *

"Finally, some time to myself."

Falling unceremoniously onto his bed, Makoto smiled contently. His dorm-room had already become his safe haven in this crazy school. While he knew it would take a while to wipe his mind of the tragedies that this room reminded him so closely of, he couldn't deny that he missed having a real mattress.

He stayed still for a good hour or so before his thoughts began to flicker rapidly. How was he going to interact with his classmates given his more aggravated attitude? For that matter, how exactly was he meant to stop the tragedy from occurring, anyway? It's not like he knew what initially sparked it.

Most importantly however-

Opening up his mini fridge he noted the lack of alcohol, and began sulking.

"Man, this just isn't fair. How the hell am I meant to relax without a good drink?" _'Or ten.'_

Opening his wallet, he saw a pile of cash more than likely stuffed there from years of saving. If only past him could see what it would be spent on.

Makoto smirked.

Time to make a trip downtown!

* * *

"Damnit, why the hell does every place here need to ID me!?"

He was twenty, going on twenty-one mentally, (and physically), but he just wasn't… currently. Or at least, that's what his school ID said. As a student, he wouldn't be allowed to purchase alcohol; especially not the harder stuff he enjoyed so much.

Vodka always hit the spot on anxiety-filled days like this.

"Naegi-san, is that you?"

Stopping his tirade towards the injustices of laws in this country he inclined his head towards the voice addressing him. Considering the fact that he was in a pub based around gambling, the addressee wasn't hard to guess.

"Celeste-san. Hello there."

The Victorian-styled girl cocked her head slightly.

"Forgive me but I don't remember ever introducing myself to you…?"

He grinned at the trap question.

"Ah. You'll have to forgive me as well Celeste-san, as I don't personally remember introducing myself to you either." He paused, watching her cough into her fist in embarrassment. "Of course, unlike my lackluster talent, yours is well known. Celestia Ludenburg, the Queen of liars; the Ultimate Gambler."

She blinked.

"I see you studied your classmates rather in-depth." Celeste sized him up. "How amusing. Very few of our peers went so far as to learn about the rest of us before entering."

Makoto smiled widely.

"Well maybe I'm just that type of guy."

Celeste's expression changed. She began laughing.

"Hm, I see." A pleasant, (read: fake), smile plastered itself on her face. "So, what is this I hear about you being ID'd?"

Makoto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well… while I don't talk about it really, I happen to enjoy alcohol quite a lot." He hung his head. "Sadly, I'm still underage, so I can't buy myself any."

Her face remained expressionless as she took in the information.

"I see." She paused as if deliberating with herself. "How about a bet then, Naegi-kun?"

Taking the change of honorific in stride, Makoto smiled.

"A bet, eh? What game?"

Celeste took a deck of cards out from her purse.

"It's simple. Each of us gets dealt one hand and whoever has the higher value wins."

Makoto eyed her up for a second. Then he shrugged.

"Alright. What exactly are the terms here, miss gambling pro?"

She looked deep in thought for a second.

"Well if I win, I want you to answer any and all questions I have about you." She smiled brightly. "You look like you're hiding things from me and I don't like that."

Makoto narrowed his eyes.

'_She's sharp…'_

While he knew it was rather stupid to show off his speed so soon, that's what his training was for and there was no use hiding it in his mind. Judging from the look in her eyes, however, he gathered that she had far more reasons for wanting him to talk about himself. He decided it best not to jump into things immediately.

"Alright…" Makoto started slowly. "So, what do I get if I win?"

She smiled.

"Well since this is a place I frequent so often and get winnings from," She chuckled darkly causing Makoto to sweat drop. "I actually hold a good amount of clot over the owner. _If _you somehow manage to beat me then you will forever be allowed to buy alcohol from here. In fact, I will go so far as to buy you your first bottle of choice alongside the nicest flask available."

She motioned towards the deck of cards.

"Are you in-?"

"YES! Let's go!"

She blinked at his exuberance before chuckling. Taking a hold of the cards, the gambler expertly shuffled them before distributing five cards to each participant.

Throughout it all, Celeste's poker face remained.

"I'll give you one last chance to back down Naegi-kun. I won't judge you for it." _'Much.'_

Without flipping over the cards, he closed his eyes and touched them. A wave washed over him. His rebuttal followed.

"Nah, I'm good. Let's go."

Over the years he had learned to hone in on his luck into a more palpable ability. While it was far from perfect he could usually tell when it was about to come in handy.

Meaning this game was already decided.

Simultaneously the players picked up their hands. Almost immediately Celeste put hers down onto the table.

"Straight Flush." Her smirk was so sharp it could have cut glass. "Looks like I win. No hard feelings, of course. I expected this outcome-"

"Royal Flush. That's game, Celeste-san."

Royal Flush. The only possible combination of cards that would give a better result than what his opponent had drawn.

Luck was good to him sometimes.

"Wha-what…? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"

He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude. He was kind of surprised that she let out her true colours so soon. Back in his timeline it took her being pushed much farther before that ever happened.

This must have meant a lot to her.

"I'm, ah, sorry Celeste-san." Makoto placated. "How about this: you hold onto your end of the bargain and we can pretend I never beat you, alright? This will stay between us."

Muttering a few choice words to herself, Celeste got out of her chair. Judging by her continued anger, his offer had been pointedly ignored.

"What's your favourite type of alcohol? Also, I'll need your ID so the barista Junior can know to look out for you in the future."

With a muttering of "Russian Vodka" he handed the outdated card to her. Raising an eyebrow at the rather youthful picture she nodded before approaching the bartender and explaining the situation.

Makoto could not help but sweat drop when he saw her intimidation tactics at work.

Damn she was scary.

Not even a minute later, she returned, approaching the table with a radiant smile. Reaching over, she handed him a rather large bottle of alcohol and a flask with an icon of a pair of dice on it. Cute.

"Here's your prize Naegi-kun. I also made sure that you would get _permanent_ discounts in the future." She chuckled darkly. "If he ever argues with you, just let me know alright?"

Makoto gulped before taking his ID back and nodding.

Scratch that, she was terrifying.

"Ah, one more thing before you go Naegi-kun?"

Motioning for her to go on, Celeste struggled to speak. Distaste tainted her accent.

"About your offer not to share what happened…?" she led. "I uh-well…"

"What do you mean? Nothing unexpected happened here."

She blinked at him as he got out of his chair and headed for the door.

"You creamed me at a game of cards, threatening to seize all my earnings, before you took pity on me by giving me a consolation prize in the form of alcohol." He looked over his shoulder. "That about right Celeste-san?"

Her expression was one of genuine surprise. For the second time in their encounter he defied her expectations. It was a novel concept, and she was happy for it.

Celeste smiled. A true smile.

"Ah, yes. That's right. Thank you for that Naegi-kun." He smiled at her before heading out. "Also, you can use a more informal moniker from now on, around me… if that suits you."

He grinned at the almost bashful way she said it.

Did that make him a C-rank in this reality too? Already? Damn that was fast.

May as well play along, then.

"Alright. Ja ne, Celeste-chan."

* * *

Makoto smiled brightly as he took a sip of his high-quality alcohol. Giddy he laid back down on his bed and sighed.

"Damn, now that hits the spot."

While the day had a bit more involvement than he would have liked, he couldn't deny the results.

"Free alcohol AND a place where I can buy it in the future without hassle? Hell, this _was_ a good day."

Still. He worried that perhaps his conversation with Celeste would lead to unforeseen changes in their friendship down the line.

Well, whatever. He doubted it would be that big of a deal.

Looking around his room he had to force his mind free of outside thoughts. He was not going to be attacked at any second and no one here had it out for him. _That he knew of, anyway._

A knock sounded from his door.

Despite the ironic timing of said action, Makoto wasn't worried. He could already guess who it was, and truthfully, while he knew they didn't intend to harm him, it didn't mean he was ready to deal with the blue-haired idol yet. Especially not after having such a good day.

So instead he turned around in his bed and promptly fell asleep.

Hey, he _did_ say he was reclusive.

* * *

**A/N: **Don't expect updates so quickly lol, (not even close), but this story is super easy to write comparatively to my main one, so I just decided to put this up and see how it goes xD. Another thing to tie you guys over while I actually plan out the fanfic that requires a lot more thought x). This story was just made as a means of challenging myself to write something that almost exclusively deals in clichés. I think so far I'm managing :p. Let me know how you feel this chapter went! (Also damn the response for chapter one was huge for this community).

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Doomqwer: **Thank you! :P hopefully you enjoyed seeing Makoto's alcoholic tendencies pop up in this chapter X)

**Liculle: **Thanks :D. He's definitely jaded lol but he tries to deflect it with humour x) it'll come out randomly.

**He Who Seeks The Joys In Life: **While I intend on making this story more humorous like this chapter, I completely respect your decision to not read. I understand. Thanks so much though :D I'm far more proud of that story so that's great to hear lol.

**Basscus: **Thank you! It's definitely been done before lol but rarely do you get to have him be in his body, (not as a copy), AND without skipping ahead XD. That's my intention lol. Thank you! Hope you enjoyed:D.

**Survivor Naegi: **Hmmmm I wonder ;o. I won't spoil anything, (also I only have some very basic ideas for where this story is going lol it's not in depth like my other one x)) but hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Xavier: **Thank you! :D Oh? Why would he specifically mention Izuru? Keep in mind this Makoto only knows what Junko told him, and what he's gleaned from news sources and the like x). (Or at least, that's what you're supposed to assume at this point in time).

**Doremishine Itsuko: **XD lol thanks fam. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! :D


	3. School Daze

**Disclaimer: **Nope, I don't own Danganronpa.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – School Daze**

Makoto sighed as he took a swig of his morning alcohol. He always took a shot or two after his morning exercise routine and now that he knew he wouldn't have to limit himself; it would probably only get worse.

Which was bad, but hey, who cares.

Smiling he brushed his teeth before leaving his room with a skip in his step.

Maybe he'd actually enjoy class today-!

"Ah, Naegi-kun! Good morning!"

Never mind.

Cranking his head slowly around, he was brought face-to-face with the blue-haired idol who had a voice _just_ chipper enough to down his good mood.

"Oh, Maizono-san. Ohayo."

She smiled brightly at him before speaking.

"Are you heading towards the cafeteria for breakfast Naegi-kun? Did you want to go together?"

No.

"Sure, why not."

Damn him and his stupid unwanted positivity.

Her smile was a beacon. Bright and shiny. _And draining._

"Great! Let's go!"

Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed his hand and started walking at a pace he was not entirely comfortable keeping up with.

At least not so soon after his workout.

'_Give me a break…'_

* * *

Taking a couple pieces of toast, some fruit and a glass of milk Makoto sat at the farthest table away from where a few of his early-morning classmates were sitting. He counted Taka, Chihiro, Aoi, Sakura, Sayaka, Leon (who was trying to get into the formers' pants) as well as Byakuya and Toko. (Well the last two were sitting elsewhere but that was hardly surprising.)

"Ne, Naegi-kun why don't you come join us?"

Sayaka stood over him with her hands on her hips.

He sighed.

"Maizono-san, I did tell you that I wasn't an outgoing person, didn't I?" Makoto looked up at her. "So, I don't really feel comfortable-"

Her 'light' glare caused a shiver to run down his spine.

Why were girls always so intense?

"Alright, alright geez. No need to give me such a scary look, I'll move."

Picking his tray up he moved over to the spot she gestured towards, squeezed in between the aforementioned singer and their resident computer programmer.

"Ah, he-hey Naegi-kun. How are you doing today? It's nice to finally meet you."

Even he couldn't stop the smile from breaking out on his face after hearing the timid voice from beside him.

"It's nice to meet you too, Fujisaki-kun. I'm doing well today, how are you?"

He internally froze at his instinctual usage of that particular moniker. He looked at the others out of the corner of his eye. Had anyone noticed?

Thankfully no.

"Ah, that's good!" The young techie smiled. "I'm doing well, too. Though, I'm pretty exhausted today. I was up late working on something."

Makoto raised an eyebrow.

Was it what he thought it was?

"Something…?" he prodded.

"Ah…" he put his head down. "Sorry it's confidential. I would share it if I could."

Makoto shrugged, undeterred. He had gotten his answer, after all.

"Don't worry about it. I understand."

Ruffling the short teenager's head, he went back to stuffing his face full of toast; unaware until that moment that he was officially the center of attention.

Gulping down the food quickly he quirked an eyebrow.

"What's up? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Taka coughed into his hand.

"Ah, I think we were just surprised you showed up, Naegi-kun." He looked sheepish. "Let alone join our table and actually take part in a conversation with Fujisaki-san."

Makoto looked surprised at that before he started laughing.

"Sorry if I gave you guys the wrong impression yesterday." He took a sip of milk. "It's not that I'm against talking to you guys or anything. Just, if I'm being honest here, don't expect me to show up to classes often or attend many school events. Neither are requirements for graduation, after all."

"Still!" Taka looked affronted. "You can't just skip school like this! It's not right-!"

"Why not? It doesn't affect our grades, any. Classes aren't mandatory aside from certain days; and I'm confident in my ability to pass the exams."

At first it looked as though no one had a response to give to him.

"Naegi-kun. I would greatly appreciate it if my future knight would attend today's lecture with us."

What.

Turning a stupefied expression towards the gambler his eyebrow began twitching uncontrollably.

"I think I may have misheard you. What'd you-?"

"I said that I have decided you will be under my employ in the future." She smiled. "I think after some training you would become an invaluable asset to me."

He decided to withhold the fact that he knew how to make her favorite Royal Tea.

No need to exacerbate the situation any further.

"Naegi-kun…? What does she mean by that…?"

Sayaka's voice held a dangerous edge to it. Though, while he could detect it, he wasn't entirely sure he knew where it came from.

"Honestly, I have no clue. I lost to her at a game of cards yesterday, and that's about all the contact I've had with her." He shrugged. "Far from grounds enough to imply… whatever the hell she meant just now."

Looking at his other classmate's expressions, he chuckled at the blushes adoring all their faces.

Celeste was never one to mince words.

Weighing his options, he got up from the table, taking his tray with him. Looking down at the smile the gambler was sending his way he figured it would be less painful to just go along with it.

He hoped, anyway.

"Fine. I'll attend this stupid class. But don't expect me to do this often or anything."

Her smile was wider than he'd ever seen.

"Of course, Naegi-kun. I wouldn't expect anything else."

Now why didn't he believe her?

* * *

He really needed to stop getting roped into things.

"Naegi-san...?" Kizakura drawled. "Mind introducing yourself to the class?"

He was here to save the world dammit, not get dragged around and actually _do work_.

He shuddered.

"Fine, fine." Makoto relented as he walked to the front of the room. Facing his classmates, he allowed a moment to absorb everyone's faces. If he was honest with himself that was another reason he ran off so fast the other day; he wasn't quite ready to see everyone again.

Sayaka was enough. He didn't want to see their expressions of betrayal in his mind as they were sent to their deaths. Horror, pain, and blood. So, so much blood…

"Naegi-san! Are you doing alright over there?"

The concerned voice of his (slightly) hungover teacher, drew him from his thoughts. Shit, did he zone out while standing upright again?

It's been a while since he did that.

"Ah, my bad. Sorry sensei. I didn't sleep well last night."

Koichi continued to look worried but accepted the excuse, taking a sip from his flask. Judging by the expressions on Sayaka, Chihiro and even Celeste's faces though, they did not.

"Well, my name is Makoto Naegi," he began. "I'm the Ultimate Lucky student meaning I was chosen by a lottery to attend here." He paused as if to elaborate before stopping. "Even though I don't intend on showing up often I hope we can get along whenever I actually do."

His piece said, he ignored the depressed look from the teacher behind him and sat back down. Feeling relaxed, he sat back in his chair and slowly closed his eyes.

This was nice…

"Naegi-kun!"

Goddammit.

Looking to his left he could see the pouting face of their pop idol. Seriously, why was she so adamant about him paying attention. Taka he could understand, but it almost looked as if the prefect no longer cared about his academics.

So, what gives?

"Maizono-san, why can I not just relax and sleep?"

She looked conflicted.

"Naegi-kun, I just want you to have a good future." Her eyes widened considerably. "But I feel like I'm just annoying you. Do you… not like me or something…?"

Makoto choked on some air and felt himself getting light headed. Where the hell did she get that idea from!? Thanking Chihiro for patting him on the back he turned back to the idol.

"Obviously I do. Don't just say things like that out of nowhere alright?" Leaning back in his chair he closed his eyes. "Plus, I'm not at all worried about doing poorly in our courses. Just trust me alright?"

Ignoring her still-pouting face for the moment he began thinking to himself.

'_Do I still want to be friends with her?' _

That train of thought ended quickly. Of course, he did. Whether or not he still held any attraction to her aside, he couldn't blame her for her actions in a possible future. If that was the case then he shouldn't talk to half of the people in this class, Celeste especially.

But that ship had sailed almost immediately.

"Alright Naegi-kun… thank you."

Makoto looked over at her still sullen expression and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. Staring at him confusedly, he gave a reassuring smile in response.

"Don't worry so much alright? You're a good person and I'm sure that I'll end up viewing you a good friend." He said softly. "Just try not to force me into doing _too _much school-work and I'm sure we'll become close."

Sayaka's blush grew astronomically as she went back to her work. A smile plastered firmly on her face she muttered a quiet 'thank you' and continued taking notes.

Makoto smile grew. A job well done if he said so himself.

"Naegi-kun, you player."

His smile dropped.

"Don't make me come over there Fujisaki."

"Ahhhh I was just joking don't hurt me please!"

A relaxed expression overtook his face as he fell back to sleep.

"That's what I thought…"

* * *

"Naegi-kun come on. Please wake up!"

…

"Naegi-kun wake up."

…

"WAKE UP NAEGI!"

"SHIT!"

Makoto jumped in the air from the sudden shout. Landing back down in his chair he faced the idol with an annoyed expression, complete with a twitching eyebrow and all.

"Is this going to become a regular thing? Because I didn't sign up for this."

Sayaka smiled innocently.

"Whatever do you mean Naegi-kun…?"

Taking note of the fact that only he, Sayaka, Chihiro and Celeste were still in the room he narrowed his eyes at them before sighing and falling back in his chair.

Putting a random textbook he found over his eyes he attempted to doze off once more.

So close…

"No. You're not falling asleep again. I won't let you."

Damn.

"You're never gonna let me relax, are you."

The question was rhetorical, of course. He knew the answer already, and he figured some payback was necessary.

"Of course, Naegi-kun. But I-"

"Value class time and learning above nearly anything. I know."

He smiled brightly at her dumbfounded expression.

"Naegi-kun, how did you know what I was gonna say?"

He cocked his head to the side.

"What, didn't I tell you?" He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm psychic."

Internally he smirked as the stunned faces of his three classmates entered his vision. Though, of course, the joke wasn't finished yet.

"I'm kidding. I just have pretty good intuition." Patting Sayaka on the head he began heading out the room. "You guys coming? I'd say it's lunch time by now and I'm starving."

Chihiro shook off his surprise quickly and bounded out after him.

"Naegi-kunnnnnn! Wait for me!"

Celeste and Sayaka were left standing there, stupefied.

"Well he certainly is full of surprises isn't he, Maizono-san?"

The idol spoke quietly, as if in a trance.

"How did he know that…? It was my joke…"

"Hm?" Celeste raised an eyebrow. "Did you say something?"

That snapped her out of it. "Ah, it was nothing. Sorry about that." She smiled at the black-haired girl. "Shall we go?"

Picking up her stuff she headed towards the door; Celeste in-tow.

'_What the hell was that about?'_

The gambler's question would go unanswered.

* * *

"Stupid over-active classmates and their stupid never-ending energy."

Makoto's constant not-so-subtle ranting caused the students around him to give way as he walked with widened strides.

"I can't believe I was hit by such a lucky shot." He rubbed his arm with a pout. "I really need to step up my training if I can still be caught off guard so easily."

He knew that against the majority of the people in this world he was far faster and stronger. Hell, he still was even a match for most of his fellow Ultimate's. However, the fighting-based ones such as Ikusaba or Oogami?

"Fat chance." He muttered.

Where did this sudden spiral of annoyance come from? Well what do you get when you combine a Sayaka who was attempting to feed him alongside a blatantly jealous Leon?

"A goddamn baseball to the arm, that's what."

True the baseball pro said that it was just an accident, but Makoto didn't buy it.

"Maizono-san may be just as pretty as always but at this point, I wouldn't give a rats' ass if he took her off my hands."

Makoto wouldn't deny that a ping of jealousy may be there initially if that were to actually happen, but in the long run it would be for the best.

After all, if this keeps up, he may never get to fall asleep in class!

"Hey, pig barf! The hell are you looking at?"

"I'm sorrrryyyyyy!"

Makoto frowned at the insult being thrown out. It was true that he may be a bit (lot) more cynical than he used to be but even still he would never stoop so low as to bully. He hated them. Picking on the weak was something he always found disgusting.

Turning the corner, he was brought face to face with a beautiful purple-haired girl being stepped on by some, admittedly cute, but scary-looking blonde-haired chibi.

'_The hell? Is that-?'_

Of course.

He could have smacked himself in the face. He completely forgot that Junko's remnants were made up of their upperclassmen. So, these two would eventually help end the world.

As he watched the Ultimate on the ground squirm he couldn't help but sweat-drop.

'_Seriously, even her?'_

Considering the scene for a few more seconds he decided he couldn't let it continue.

So, he stepped forward.

"Alright, that's enough. I don't know what's going on here but I _do _know she doesn't like it. So, get off her."

The blonde-haired girl jumped as if burned. Wheeling around she was brought face to face with a _very_ handsome-looking guy that had the _most_ unimpressed expression she had ever seen.

She gulped.

"Wh-who the hell are you? I'm Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer. Show some respect!"

Makoto narrowed his eyes at the girl. He could tell she was hiding some major form of insecurity behind her fake bravado. That being said; acting out in this manner was still inexcusable, regardless of circumstance.

"My name is Makoto Naegi, Ultimate Lucky student of class 78." He said as he walked right past the affronted looking girl and held out his hand to the one still on the ground. "And who might you be, miss…?"

His smile was disarming, Mikan decided. It made her feel vulnerable, emotional and safe. It happened so quickly she was momentarily stunned.

"A-ano, my na-name is Mikan. Mikan Ts-Tsumiki." She stuttered out. "The Ultimate Nu-Nurse."

Makoto's eyebrow raised at the girl's timid introduction before shaking his head, smile back on his face.

"It's nice to meet you Tsumiki-chan! The Ultimate Nurse, huh? That's a pretty incredible talent. I'm impressed."

"You… you're impressed…?" Mikan's voice lacked any form of stutter but there was no doubt in his mind that she was stumped he would think this way.

"Of course." He grinned. "Your talent is a hell of a lot more impressive than mine, that's for sure. Let alone half of the people I know at this school. You can save lives and I can tell by your expression, you love what you do. Am I right?"

Saionji who was frowning at the side from being ignored, looked intrigued by the way the conversation was headed.

Mikan just poked her fingers together.

"You really think so…? Most people find it weird and don't like me so I-"

She got cut off as a hand found its way on the top of her head. Blinking she looked up and was met with the softest smile she had ever seen on a person before.

"Tsumiki-chan, you don't have to worry about that alright? Just find people that accept you for being you and I promise that you'll be happier than you ever thought possible."

Mikan's mouth felt dry. The words combined with the tender head-petting was enough to almost make her cry.

Who was this person…?

"But I tried… I don't think they exist-"

"Of course, they do silly." Makoto interrupted her, bending down to look into her eyes. "We're friends, now right? And I already said that I think your talent is great, not weird. So, chin up, alright?"

That did it.

"WAHHHHHHHHH!"

Mikan latched onto his torso and began crying harder than she had in forever. It was more than the usual waterworks she got when she was bullied. It was as if she compounded all of it together into one moment and let it loose.

It was cathartic.

Makoto smiled fondly down at the girl and held her close. He could tell quite easily how Junko would have sunk her fangs into the innocent bundle currently in his arms and he had no intention of letting that happen.

"Ne, Saionji-san?"

Hiyoko blinked at finally being addressed. While she didn't appreciate the situation at hand she couldn't deny that she felt a _little _bad when she saw just how close the nurse was to breaking.

Only a little though, she told herself.

"What is it, weirdo."

Makoto kept gently rubbing the nurse's back as he looked over his shoulder. In that one instance the blonde-haired girl saw so many negative emotions that it almost swallowed her whole.

What the hell-

"You and me. Set aside a time for us to talk. Whether you want to or not, I am going to sort you out so this type of shit doesn't happen again." His eyes narrowed marginally. "Capiche?"

Hiyoko could only nod.

Makoto smiled brightly.

"Glad to hear it."

* * *

Makoto sighed as he closed his dorm-door behind him.

Today was… nice.

"My classmates may be loud, but they're still enjoyable to be around." He grinned. "Fuijisaki-kun is especially fun to tease. I guess I always felt too bad to do it in the past but not anymore."

Popping open his flask he began downing its contents quickly. Giving a content smile, he wiped his chin and laid down, staring at the ceiling.

"Since I arrived on a Sunday for orientation and our guests of honour arrive Wednesday, that means I only have one day left to think of an opening plan…"

His thoughts trailed off as he gave the situation more thought. What exactly should he do? The two of them were virtually unapproachable, or he assumed as such. Mukuro was a trained soldier and Junko would more than likely be cautious to the point of paranoia.

Aside from getting closer to his upperclassmen what else could he do? Getting to talk to either of the despair sisters one on one would be fruitless, right-?

"THAT'S IT!"

His eyes widened as he realized a common thread throughout all of it.

"Enoshima can't do anything without her sister. Likewise, her sister, from her own words, apparently ceases to function without being ordered."

They need each other.

"But," Makoto muttered. "How can I use this to my benefit?"

Should he try and separate them? While he didn't know how they acted at school he imagined that Junko would not let her sister out of her sight often in fear of betrayal.

Ironic, considering what she does to her.

This thought process eventually lead to a pretty obvious conclusion.

"Mukuro Ikusaba. She is the weak link in all of this, but also its most integral piece." Makoto deduced. "Junko Enoshima may be brilliant. But physically she simply does not compete with someone like the 'Ultimate Soldier'."

While her skills were another unknown to Makoto, he could infer that if her physical capabilities were even close to her sister's intellectual ones, she would truly be monstrous.

"That's it then. I have to get to Ikusaba-san before her sister does."

It was a tall order, of course, and there was no guarantee that Junko hadn't already completely brainwashed her by this point.

It was his best shot though.

Plan in mind, Makoto brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. Looking over at his clock he saw he still had some time left before his usual bedtime.

He snorted.

He did enough thinking for the day; he was turning in early.

* * *

**Side Note: **Damn you guys are hitting up those favorites and follows like crazy ;o. Low review numbers, (which I'd definitely continue writing if it were higher), but still :D I'm impressed by the response this joke fanfic is getting. Glad it's not horrible x).

**A/N (About the Ultimate Assistant): **With the posting of this chapter, the next Arc of the Ultimate Assistant is almost done :D. The first chapter will be posted coinciding with this one. (Though at a shorter chapter length due to me writing a lot more of that story than this one x). This story will be updated randomly in between updates of that story (but not as consistently. I just happened to find this one easy to write because it lacks any real point. It's just for fun so it's easy to write down xD. Hopefully you guys are enjoying it anyway!)

**Reviewer Responses:**

**1995hzq: **Thank you! Here's an early update for ya :p.

**Doomqwer: **Yes I agree Naegiri is one of my least favorite pairings, BUT I adore their friendship. It's cute and well done on that front:P. Yes Junko will be coming soon x). (Probably the chapter after the next, haven't written them yet, just have plans for how they will go lol).

**Guest 1: **I have!

**Guest 2: **Yes that was the plan XD Makoto is made to be smarter in this story but he is even more socially stunted than canon. (Which is quite bad) so he wouldn't pick up on that. Also, as I stated in the previous chapter, Makoto is actually quite short compared to his classmates xD. If you look at how he looks now in canon where he is about 20 he still looks 18. Not as old as you may think. Just more buff in this story!

**Guest 3: **Perhaps. It'll have harem moments, but for pairings I'm unsure:p.

**Doremishine Itsuko: **You'll get your wish at some point fam X)

**Survivor Naegi: **Your summary was a very funny read so I thank you for that xD. Also it gave me some great ideas. Some of which I planned and others I hadn't considered. So thank you for that!

Be sure to review if you want to get a response, or answers to your questions! :D


	4. The Calm

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything to do with Danganronpa.

**Side Note: **Sorry for the late update! Hurricane Dorian wrecked our internet lol. Got it going again though:)

* * *

**Chapter 3 – The Calm**

Makoto woke with a start. Eyes wide; his breathing heavy and uncontrolled. Falling forward, he held his stomach in an attempt to resist vomiting.

"God…" he wheezed. "That was awful. I honestly didn't think my dreams could get any worse. Life once again proves me wrong."

Nightmares were far from an alien concept to Makoto. Ever since he was a child, bad dreams had been a fairly common occurrence for him. Of course, back then, they were about issues far less serious. A creepy monster from a horror film he caught his parents watching, receiving an F on a test, or being rejected by some of the more popular girls in school.

A certain blue-haired one, in particular.

"At this point I'd take a thousand of those so-called 'nightmares', to my current ones."

As the water from the shower fell upon his skin he sighed. Thatnight always taunted him. It was especially bad when his mind would substitute or, in this case, _add_ other students that hadn't met their demise in that moment. It made him feel even worse for his failures.

"I really should stop being such a downer. Leave that job to Fukawa-san."

Makoto snorted and stepped out of the shower, rejuvenated. A good, quick workout followed by a nice wash-down was just what the doctor ordered. Well, it always served to make him better, at least. What else could he do about his mental state? He certainly wasn't going to talk to a psychiatrist about his issues. Who would believe him? He'd be labelled crazy and thrown into an asylum within the hour.

So, all in all, he was content as is.

Makoto got dressed and walked out of his room, intent on getting some breakfast as inconspicuously as possible.

He paused in his steps.

"Um… hey."

The small group stared back at him, unnervingly wide smiles on their faces. Makoto began sweating.

"You guys, uh… want something, or…?"

Sayaka and Chihiro's smiles only seemed to widen at the question while Celeste put her hands together, daintily.

"We were wondering if you were headed to breakfast, Naegi-kun?"

"Yes, I am." he cocked his head to the side. The girls resisted the urge to squeal. "Why?"

"We-well, we-we were wondering if you might…" Chihiro stuttered. "W-would you maybe um…" he gave up.

Makoto was lost.

"Uh…?"

"Naegi-kun." Celeste's eyes sharpened. "Would you _please_ do us the honour of joining us for breakfast? You don't want to keep three beautiful ladies waiting, do you?"

'_I don't see any ladies here.' _Makoto thought to himself. _'let alone beautiful ones.'_ He smartly held back however and instead smiled brightly.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though!" and walked past them. He didn't get far.

"Naegi-_kun?" _Celeste's sugary voice cut deep. "It wasn't a request."

The Luckster felt three pairs of hands grasping him from different areas- wait, did someone just pinch his ass?

"Sorry!" Sayaka squeaked.

The idol didn't look particularly apologetic, to him.

Makoto just hung his head in resignation.

Maybe he could file a restraining order?

* * *

The cafeteria was empty. Aside from the cook (read: chef) humming a tune while making some food, the room was close to deserted. No one else present, not even Taka, on account of it being 6 in the morning.

'_Which is _why _I wanted to get breakfast at this hour, in the first place!'_

Makoto lamented his situation, as the group lined up to order their food. Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

After a moment of deliberation, he moved.

"Hey, Tsumiki-chan. How are you doing this morning?"

"EEP!"

Makoto blinked as the girl jumped nearly ten feet from surprise. Impressive air.

"Sorry about that. You, uh, okay Tsumiki-chan…?"

He watched as the girl began greedily intaking air. Eventually she nodded slowly.

"H-hai…"

"Good." Makoto grinned. "So. Mind telling me why you were spying on me from behind this pillar?"

"EHH!? You saw!?"

He shrugged. "No, not really. But good to know I've got a stalker on my hands."

The girl collapsed to floor in a sulking heap. The Luckster immediately felt bad.

"Hey, hey it's okay Tsumiki-chan, I was just joking." He held out his hand for her to take. "I'm guessing you were just nervous about approaching me, right? You strike me as that type of person. It's fine though, I'd love to talk to you!"

She looked up at him, an uncertain expression on her face.

"Are… are you sure…?"

"Of course!" he grinned. "We're friends, remember? I said as much."

She blushed. Obviously, she remembered. It was probably the happiest moment of her life. Some people would consider that fact, sad.

Mikan would have wholeheartedly disagreed.

Placing her hand into his, she felt him left her up; wobbling slightly from the sudden force.

"I gotcha, don't worry."

The blush on her face couldn't have gotten any brighter. He currently had his arm around her waist to hold her steady. The inclination to fall forward had never been so high.

"Naegi-kun, come get breakfast!"

Makoto looked up to see Sayaka yelling at him from the other side of the cafeteria. Evidently, she did not notice the person currently held up by him. He figured the idol would have asked about that.

"Just give me a second!"

He looked down at Mikan.

"You good…?"

She nodded slowly in acknowledgement; poking her fingers together as she did so.

"A-ano… Naegi…kun?"

"Yes…?"

"U-um… do you think that I… c-could join you for breakfast…?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let's go. I can even introduce you to some of my friends."

Letting go of her waist he made to walk away when-

"Wait!"

She latched onto his arm. He stared down at the nurse in confusion, the girl closing her eyes, as if scared he'd reprimand her for her actions.

Makoto frowned.

'_Her psychological scarring must be even worse than I thought. I'm not sure what kind of past she has but I know for a fact it left a serious impact on her.' _He considered the girl further. _'Perhaps she's concerned I'm going to leave her or something? She didn't strike me as someone who had many friends, sadly. Maybe it's best I let her hold onto me for now. It'll create a stable sense of comfort I can eventually wean her off of.'_

"You good now?"

She looked up at him in disbelief. He wasn't going to make her leave? He'd allow her to stay by his side? Did he not find her disgusting?

His smile said all.

She hugged his arm tighter.

* * *

Sayaka was not impressed. Not one bit. For that matter, neither was Celeste.

Chihiro, on the other hand was _greatly _amused.

"Naegi-kun…?" The idol questioned, her eyebrow twitching. "Who… is this…?"

Mikan clutched onto Makoto's arm harder, though he hardly noticed. Oblivious to the reasons behind Sayaka and Celeste's apparent annoyance, he patted Mikan on the head.

"This is Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse. As well as our Senpai in the class above ours." Mikan cooed lightly from the head petting. The other two began growling louder. "I ran into her yesterday and we really hit it off, I think."

"Oh…" Sayaka's face contorted. "You hit it off, did you now…?"

"Yes, Naegi-kun…" Celeste bent her fork. "Do tell. What happened, exactly…?"

He deadpanned.

"I just said. I met Tsumiki-chan yesterday, and we hit it off." Makoto shoveled some food into his mouth. "We're good friends, now."

At that one word, Celeste and Sayaka both breathed sighs of relief while Mikan's eyes began to water. Chihiro's smile was positively blinding.

"Okay…?" Makoto said puzzled. "Mind filling me in with what's wrong…?"

No one answered.

He sighed.

"You know what? Forget it, I have things I need to do today, anyway." He stood up, having finished his meal in record time. "And no, before you ask; I'm not coming to class. It's more important than that."

Knowing an argument was about to break out he quickly retreated from the scene faster than they could track.

The sounds of annoyed screaming carried quite far, however.

* * *

**Outside Togami Corp:**

Makoto looked at his recent purchase. A top of the line phone, with all the functionality anyone could ever need _and then some. _He never remembered himself to have been particularly wealthy in the past, but evidently, his savings were nothing to sneeze at.

Granted, this expenditure used up the majority of his funds, but in his mind, it was well worth it.

'_Though, it's worth it for a reason only prudent to my situation in particular.'_

He had been planning on buying this particular phone ever since he arrived in this timeframe. It was just, that today, he got the feeling he'd need it more than ever.

His gut feeling rarely steered him wrong, so he followed it. Hooking something small onto the front of his jacket, he breathed out.

"Now that my errand is out of the way, I can finally get down to exploring the other campuses."

His memories of Hopes Peak were, _fuzzy_ to say the least. Unclear. As in, he couldn't remember anything. Due to this, he figured that a look around Reserve Course building as well as the Hopes Peak Elementary school, were in order.

He decided to start with the latter.

Makoto smiled at the kids going about their days. For the most part, the place looked peaceful, serene. The idea that anything negative would ever happen in the vicinity felt… alien, to say the least.

Then he turned the corner.

"Hey. Did you have a good day at school?"

"Mhmm…"

"Good girl. That's what I _love _to hear."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at the scene he stumbled upon. Tucked behind the school's courtyard, and just out of sight, his first thought of what he was seeing wasn't a good one.

Could these people look anymore suspicious?

'_Three creepy old men in suits are crowding around a little girl.' _He frowned. _'I don't need to know the specifics to know I don't like it…' _

Should he wait for an opening-?

"We'll make sure to be _extra gentle _for you tonight."

Alright, no.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Makoto suddenly appeared in front of the girl at speeds the group couldn't follow. The pink-haired child snapped out of her trance and looked up in confusion at the newest arrival. He returned the look briefly, before staring back at the others.

"I asked you guys a question." He motioned to the girl standing behind him. "What were you three planning on doing with her?"

"WHY YOU-!"

"Hey, hey, let's not be hasty, here."

Makoto raised an eyebrow as the probable leader of the operation stopped his employee's tirade. The man exuded an aura of calm that the Luckster had no doubt affected many a person before.

He wasn't one of them.

"Now. You look to be a healthy young man!" he laughed. "Surely you must need to take care of your… _urges, _from time to time, correct?"

Makoto didn't answer immediately. This situation would need a more subtle approach, he decided. Placing his hands into his pockets, he subtly flicked a button on the side of his phone.

Nobody noticed.

"Urges, you say? What exactly are you referring to here…?"

The mans smile was made of plastic. In a way that made his skin crawl. A quick glance behind showed him that the girl was just as affected.

"Well," the man crooned. "Sexually, of course."

The ultimate cocked an eyebrow at the rather direct manner of speech.

This would be easier than he thought.

"Of course, I do. Who doesn't feel that way from time to time." He shrugged. "Though I fail to see what you're implying. Please, be upfront with me."

The mans smile turned bloody.

"Why, it's simple young man!" he pointed at the girl now cowering behind him. "If you promise not to say anything about the situation, we'll let you have your way with her. For as long as you want. Free of charge! She's quite worth it, my associates here can assure you of that."

Makoto's blood turned to ice. He figured the situation was bad, but to hear it so casually said, with no concern for human life. Let alone the life of a goddamn _child._

It took everything in him to keep the act going.

"I… see." He forced out. "Tempting offer, I must admit."

Makoto looked to be considering the proposition. Inwardly however, he had never felt so dirty.

"Fine, then. I'll accept on one condition."

The man blinked; composure broken for a second. His recovery was nothing but speedy, however.

"Why, yes of course young man! Go on?"

"Well, my condition is rather simple. I'd like two of my questions answered before I start. Is that alright with you…?" Makoto hedged. The man nodded. "Firstly, I was just curious; do her parents know about this? I must confess I find it… empowering when they do."

He felt the urge to dry heave get stronger after every word. It was a necessary evil. A psychologically proven way to get information, and the best strategy to employ in this situation.

Didn't make it any easier, however.

Thankfully, his answer came concisely, "well considering I am little Kotoko's father, yes they are aware! Hoho." He guffawed loudly. "Satoshi Utsugi, at your service! As for my whore of a wife? She died from a drug overdose a couple years ago, but this little money-maker has been keeping me afloat! Early retirement is a hell of a kick, son."

Makoto closed his eyes and breathed out. He was close.

"I see." The young man muttered. "Mind if I get to it then?"

The man and his two cronies both laughed.

"Why yes, go on young man! We'll just be here to supervise. Ensure that the merchandise doesn't get damaged _too _badly. You can rough her up a bit, of course, just don't do anything irreversible." The man sighed wistfully. "Had that happen one time. Hospital bills aren't cheap, let me tell you. I'd rather not go through that again."

Makoto turned away and grit his teeth. Hard.

"Right."

Getting down on one knee he looked at Kotoko. She avoided his line of sight, having backed away from him earlier on in the conversation.

"Kotoko, please… just look at me for a second, okay?"

She opened one of her eyes a crack. The smile he gave her took her breath away momentarily. It was so… different, to the ones she had become used to.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that just now. I had to act like I was going to go through with... _that._" He spat. "I won't, though. I promise."

Her question was obvious; 'why?'

"I'm going to get you out of here. Away from these guys." Makoto revealed. Her eyes widened and he quickly put a finger to her lips. "No, don't speak. Not yet. Just tell me, do you know if they are armed?"

The girl looked hesitant to answer, _worried,_ but he was nothing if patient.

Sadly, they weren't.

"Hey! What's the big idea, man?" one of the cronies yelled out. "Why haven't you started yet? She's only getting older by the minute!"

Makoto ignored him.

"Please Kotoko-chan. Tell me."

She nodded slowly.

"Alright, that's fine." It was more of a leading question, anyway. He wasn't actually worried about these no-names. "Then sit tight for just a second. I'll be done momentarily."

He got back up and turned back to the three men. His expression, vacant.

"He-hey man, what's the big idea? I thought we had a deal?"

"We did." Makoto agreed. "You haven't fulfilled your end of the bargain yet."

"No…?" Satoshi appeared puzzled. "How so?"

The Luckster cracked his neck. "You never answered my other question."

"You're… correct." He conceded. "Very well then, what is it that you wanted to know?"

"It's an easy question to answer, even for one of your miniscule intellect."

He vanished.

"Does this hurt?"

"NGH-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"BOSS!"

"Huh." Makoto shrugged. "Guess that answers my question. Thanks for being so cooperative."

Kotoko stared at the scene with wide eyes as the brown-haired student knocked her bastard of a father down with one hit.

'_I didn't even see him move!'_

"Why you-!"

The gun wasn't out of its holster before the henchman found his arm twisted behind his back, and his head smashed into the pavement. Less blood than expected, but it undoubtedly hurt.

The third crook wasn't even given the chance to react as Makoto kicked him in the chest. He was flung back into the wall and sent to the ground; the wind promptly knocked out of him.

Makoto looked at the situation in disgust. Searching the moaning bodies for any weapons he may have missed, he found a taser alongside two additional pistols and put them out of reach behind him.

"Alright." He looked down on them. "Let's talk about what happens to you low life's now."

"Nothing!" Kotoko's father barked, a victorious grin upon his face. "You may have beaten us down, but this means nothing!"

"Oh?" Makoto drawled. "Do tell."

If the man felt unnerved from the Luckster's lack of fear, he hid it well. "You think you're the first _child _to turn on us? The first one to knock us down? How naïve."

"And…? What exactly is your point?"

"My point!?" The man exclaimed, laughing heartily, "is that you have no proof! In fact, if anything, with all your fingerprints on our weapons over there, it would be easy for us to pin this on you. I may be retired, kid, but I was a highly respected orthodontist in my time. I'm loved by the community; I'll get away scot-free." Satoshi smiled. "And don't expect to get anything out of my little girl, either. She would never turn on us. She knows what will happen to her, if she does. She's just an unwanted disease, after all. Someone who's only truly loved when she's 'performing'."

He grinned as Kotoko's face fell. Ecstatic in spite of the marks littering his body.

It felt good to be in control-

"Is that all?" Makoto idly picked at his ear. "Shit, I almost got worried for a second there. But thankfully you laid all my fears to rest in one fell swoop. So, good job, I guess."

"Wh-what-!?"

"Allow me to explain."

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he watched as the men in front of him paled considerably.

"This is a little gift I got myself with the majority of my savings. A celebration for me making it into Hopes Peak." He motioned towards the button on the side. "While not for this exact purpose, I wanted a recorder on my phone, and one that was easily accessible. This one happens to attach to the small camera on my chest. Technology is incredible, isn't it? The highest quality sound and video available, and it can all be found on something as small as this?"

The men didn't rise to his bait.

"My talent is Luck, you see, and it's not always the good kind." Makoto continued. "I wanted to ensure that I could always gather proof of my innocence no matter the situation I found myself in. This, of course, being one of them. This case, in particular, required a little acting on the side but… this is the result: I have successfully coaxed all the needed information out of you."

Makoto looked down at the three men below him. Unrestrained fury in his eyes as they all wet themselves in fear.

"And despite my what I said about my talent, don't _any _of you think that I consider myself unlucky for ending up here." He growled. "It was the greatest stroke of luck I could have ever received. With this, I now have all the proof I need to haul your fat-asses to jail; alongside the ability to issue a warrant for a formal investigation to be undertaken in this town. Since, obviously, there has to be more than just the three of you involved here. I refuse to believe it's just you three."

He shrugged.

"So that's the first thing you got wrong. I have my proof, and I have it in spades." The brunette mocked. "The second one is even easier to explain."

Makoto turned around and approached Kotoko. She looked up at him in wonder, apprehension, confusion; and, while masked,

Hope.

"Don't you dare say that Kotoko is a disease. No child is. It's an excuse shitty parents use to blame their lack of success in parenting on the potential failings of their offspring." He got down on his knees and looked the girl in the eyes. He smiled softly. "Kotoko-chan. You can do anything your heart sets itself on. I promise you."

He held out his hand.

"Let me prove it to you, okay?"

Everything inside her told her not to take the hand. It was a trick. This was just a ruse to get her to lower her guard. So, he can enjoy himself more. So, he can be _gentle _with her.

"Kotoko-chan."

He spoke softly, calmly. His eyes held no deceit in them, only a promise of a future where she could be free. Be happy.

Be _loved_.

She took his hand in hers.

Makoto smiled.

"Let's start then, Kotoko-chan. The first step towards recovery."

* * *

**Side Note: **The next chapter of The Ultimate Assistant will be up sometime in the next day or two. Look forward to that! :D (This chapter was pretty much done before the hurricane struck so that's why it's going up first lol).

**N/A: **As I said at the top, sorry for any delay; Hurricane Dorian wrecked our internet ;/. Granted, I never promised a consistent schedule with this story comparatively to my other one but I felt it good to say anyway:p. **Please reviewwwww**;D it makes me so happy even when I get criticisms. Anything you wanna say makes me wanna write faster :). Till next time!

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Doomqwer: **Yes I loved writing it… may go back and extend it at some point tbh. He might have, yes XD.

**Guest: **As someone said above you, yeah I didn't forget that, Makoto just doesn't know that much about the future :p. This is a different story where he tries to prevent things without really knowing how to go about it xD.

**Survivor Naegi: **I love reading your reviews they never fail to make me laugh:p. Yessss I love your ideas too. Teruteru will be getting some time learning from him for sure ;D

**Fortitude501: **Thank you for trying to explain things for me! :). LOL. Well, we'll see about that ;p but it wouldn't surprise me either…

**Pokemon Trainer Tom: **I mean, same; they are fun to read and write XD just not deep lol.

**1995hzq: **I'm glad you did. I'm loving writing their interactions ;p. Yeah, you and me both XD jk.

**Average Joe: **Thank you for the compliments and criticisms I appreciate both :D. Unfortunately, I just find it easier to write the names the Japanese way since I grew up with that fan translation years ago :P. Some of the Japanese phrases though, I try to limit to only a couple words :).

**Kleptor: **Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter too:)

**Stapler Guest: **Same ;D he's easier to write than regular Makoto for me lol

**Victor155: **I don't know! Glad you like all that about it :P


	5. Before

**Disclaimer: **Despair, for I do not own Danganronpa;/

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Before…**

"I see. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. For what it's worth; I'm so incredibly sorry all of this had to happen, and for such a long time, as well. Make no mistake, justice will be served. Compensation for everything that happened, will be taken directly out of the pockets of those involved; right after they are put away." A wave. "You are free to go."

"Of course, thank you. If you'll excuse us."

Makoto nodded to the warden and stepped out of the room, a serious expression adorning his face. The prison was a rather dreary building just down the street from Hopes Peak Academy. The distance of which was a definite blessing.

Dragging three overweight men by their hair was a tiring exercise, even for someone like him.

"Ne, Mako-nii?"

He smiled down at the girl in his hand.

"Yes, Koto-chan?"

The girl blushed at the nickname. He wasn't sure why though; her name for him was quite similar, he thought.

"Ano… what are you going to do with me…?"

Thatwas the million-dollar question now, wasn't it? His first inclination was to search for any other living relatives of hers and explain the situation to them. But, according to what Kotoko, (read: timidly), mentioned back in the prison, she had no knowledge of any extended family.

Even then, Makoto wasn't too keen on leaving the poor girl with anyone related to the couple who instigated the whole situation. It turned out that in actuality it was her mother who originally set everything up, her father just profited.

They were still equally guilty, in his mind.

The orphanage then? It was the next logical step.

Reading through her school records put that idea to rest. As the recently admitted Lil' Ultimate Drama, the girl was placed into the 'troublemaker' class of Hopes Peak. Alongside several other children that also sported the beginnings of mental instability, it appeared as if the school thought it best to just push them aside without administering any help.

Makoto's teeth grinded together at the thought.

"Mako-nii…?"

Kotoko's voice brought him back from the brink. Schooling his anger, he ruffled her hair with a smile. Her expression was love incarnate.

"Sorry Koto-chan, I was just thinking of an answer to your question…" he trailed off. Kotoko frowned at him and poked his arm.

"You don't have any ideas…?"

He considered it further. Then he turned to her, eyebrow raised.

"Not anything concrete no. You sound like you do?" he hedged as a guess. "Do you have any preference for what you'd like to do…?"

The girl's reply was far too quiet to hear. She played with her hair awkwardly and kept her head low.

As they stepped outside the building, Makoto pulled her over gently. Getting down on one knee he looked her in the eyes.

"Can you say that again for me, Koto-chan…?"

Her expression told him she _really _didn't want to, but he was nothing if tenacious. So, he waited, and waited.

Eventually she acquiesced.

"I… I want to stay with you, Mako-nii…"

He blinked at the admission.

It shouldn't come as a surprise, he supposed. The girl was _just _saved from a lifetime of sexual abuse by his hand. She probably felt safer around him than anyone else at the moment.

"I, uh…" he struggled to think of a rebuttal. "I could try, for sure. I just don't know if my family would go for it…"

"Your family…?" she looked at him in confusion. "You don't live with them though, right?"

Makoto couldn't fault her there. Still, he wasn't old enough to legally adopt a child nor would his parents go for it, (probably).

"Yes, but I still would need to talk to my parents and my imouto about it because-"

"Imouto…?"

Her voice sounded dead. It was, unnerving to say the least. Why-

"But I wanted to be your imouto…" her voice was pitched, and slightly warped. It was almost as if some metaphorical mask was cracking. "Why can't I be…?"

'_Not good.'_

First it was Celeste with her crazed alter-ego, then it was Sayaka with her borderline bi-polar disorder. Following that, there was Mikan who bares _multiple _scars; both physical and mental in origin. Then, of course, there was the briefly-met Saionji, who looked to be someone that lashed out at everyone and everything she could for attention.

Now this!?

'_Does Hopes Peak barre entrance to anyone lacking a mental issue? My past self may not count, admittedly, but everyone else I've met so far seems to either struggle with something; or have some deep dark secret they don't want out. I included. No wonder Enoshima took over so easily.'_

He shook his head. Such things could be thought on in more detail later. After all, he couldn't exactly blame Kotoko for her instability. That fault lay solely with her so-called parents.

It didn't make it any less concerning, however.

"Hey, hey calm down Koto-chan. It's okay." Makoto hugged her small body to his chest. She relaxed quickly. "I never said that I didn't want you: I just need some time to sort things out with my family, okay?"

Kotoko didn't respond.

"Now, are you absolutely sure that out of anywhere I could bring you, you would like to stay with me?"

Kotoko didn't respond. A moment later she nodded.

"Alright, then."

Her smile lit up the street. It was bright, pure and so full of happiness that, to an outsider, it may have looked as if the girl had never struggled a day in her life. Makoto, upon seeing it, made a promise to do everything he could to keep her smiling. To keep that precious light going.

Nothing would stop him.

…

Well, aside from the headmaster and his family, that is. Any explanation he could give them, seemed inadequate at the moment, and he just _knew _how the latter would react.

It had been a while since Makoto felt such fear.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight." Jin Kirigiri started, incredulously. "You had the intuition to single-handedly save a child from a life of sexual abuse, get those involved thrown behind bars AND find a way to get out scot-free… and then you decide that adopting her by keeping her in _your room, _without proper identification, or even notifying your family, is the best course of action."

Makoto shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

Jin's head hit his desk in annoyance.

"Naegi-kun…" he groaned. "Your lack of forethought reminds me too much of a certain mutual acquaintance of ours. Surely you must see what's wrong with your plan…?"

He did but refused to answer.

"Speaking of which," Jin continued, annoyance obvious. "Why exactly did the police let you two go like that? Without contacting someone to take care of her."

"Dunno." Makoto shrugged. "I just told them that I would sort everything out for her and they let me go. Pretty lucky if you ask me."

"Right…" Jin sighed. "Lucky. You know, most anyone wouldn't be able to accept such coincidences as fact. You do realize how far-fetched this whole thing is, don't you?"

Makoto didn't look particularly bothered.

Jin hung his head in resignation.

Kotoko, who had been silent up until now, was growling openly at the man in front of her. She didn't like him very much. He was trying to keep her away from her favourite person!

… Granted he was the _only _person she really liked, so that wasn't really saying much; but still.

"Kirigiri-san, I understand how it may sound a little… crazy," Makoto admitted. "But there really are no other options. I doubt the orphanage would take her due to her… issues, and even considering the idea of sending her to her family feels wrong to me."

The boy shook his head.

"This keeps her out of their hands _and _keeps her near me." He patted her softly on the hand making her smile brightly. "I asked her what she wanted to do, and she wanted to stay with me, for the moment so-"

"Not for the moment."

The two men blinked.

Kotoko pouted_._

"I don't want to stay with _you for the moment_. I want to stay with you _forever!"_

Makoto rubbed his head nervously.

"Ah, Koto-chan, forever seems a bit excessive you know-?"

"No." she stomped her foot petulantly. "Forever."

He hung his head.

"Fine. Forever."

Kotoko smiled, placated.

Jin watched the proceedings with a critical eye. In his family's line of work, he had seen the effects of PTSD take all different forms over the years. An over-attachment/reliance on someone was certainly not unheard of. Perhaps…

"How about a compromise then, Naegi-kun?"

Makoto and Kotoko looked at the man with open interest.

"You will have to take full responsibility of her, and anything she does which could negatively affect the school, will be your fault to bare. Additionally, once a week, I request that Kotoko, come in for a psychological evaluation. Given… everything that has happened to her, I think it's necessary. When she is finally deemed alright for classes this condition can be dropped, if you so choose." He elaborated. "If you accept this arrangement, I'll have a single bed delivered to your room at once, alongside some basic necessities. I will also ensure that the official documentation gets done and covered up. Your family won't know until the parent-teacher meetings a month from now. Sorry to say, but I am obligated to tell them by that point."

The headmaster linked his hands together.

"Do you accept?"

It felt as if he was making a deal with the devil. Though, that was more likely due to the older man's dramatic way of speech and less from the terms themselves. They certainly seemed fair, to him.

He shared a look with Kotoko. Her face sealed it.

"Alright."

* * *

"Ne, Mako-nii?"

"Hm?"

"What are we doing here…?"

Makoto looked down at his newly adopted sister. He tousled her hair with a smile.

"We're going clothes shopping, silly." Makoto looked around the mall thoughtfully. "We need to get you some new clothes since all you have are your various uniforms, alongside the clothes that…"

"That…?"

His expression darkened. It took everything he had in him to let go of his anger.

"Never mind. Only your uniforms." He shifted the topic. "Just tell me which store you want to go to, and we'll go. I have a bit of money put away for occasions such as this. When the police get their act together and your money comes in, you can buy your own. Until then, my treat!"

The Luckster knew that after this he'd probably only have enough left over to afford a single bottle, but it was worth it.

Kotoko grew on him fast.

"Then, let's go here!"

He smiled at her childlike excitement before his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"A lingerie store…?"

"Mhm~!" She exclaimed, happily. "It's the place girls take the guys they love and make them happy!"

Makoto couldn't deny the truth in that statement. Still, it was multiple levels of wrong.

"Koto-chan," Makoto began softly. "while that may be true, it doesn't apply to everyone. It shouldn't, especially not someone your age."

She looked confused, and sad.

"But I just want to make you happy. I thought that would make you happy."

Of course. He felt like slapping himself on the forehead. How could he have so quickly forgotten her upbringing?

The Luckster looked at the girl sorrowfully, before engulfing her in a hug. Initially surprised, the girl hugged back eagerly.

"You just keep being yourself around me Koto-chan and I'll be as happy as can be." He grinned down at her. "Be the best little sister you can be, alright?"

Kotoko could agree to those terms.

"Good. Now then: why don't I show you some more… PG options."

She looked confused.

"What's PG? Oh!" she jumped excitedly. "Does that have anything to do with R or triple X? Those were the only movies I was allowed to watch at home."

Makoto was stunned once more. This girls home-life somehow got worse the longer he heard about it. The urge to put her in a safe bubble away from humanity was growing stronger every minute.

"Uh… how about this: I'll explain on the way."

"Okay!"

A quick tug away from the risqué store front, and they were off.

* * *

The excursion went well. Two bags stuffed to the brim with clothes, (alongside a bleeding wallet) picked out from Kotoko herself, could only be viewed as positive, in his mind.

Granted, he had to stop her a number of times from picking things that would no doubt lead to his immediate arrest, but aside from that, it was a good time.

"You happy, Koto-chan?"

The two bags sat on top of her newly-arrived bed. His luck must have been in overdrive today, as he didn't run into anyone he knew on the way here. He was far too tired to explain anything at this point.

"Yep!" Kotoko squealed. "Thank you nii-chan! You're the best!"

Makoto chuckled at her exuberant answer, before heading into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Thankfully, the girl's bathroom supplies had arrived just as the headmaster had said they would.

"Koto-chan, I need to get up early for class. So, I'm going to sleep soon."

"Aww…" she pouted. "I wanted to spend more time with you."

His eyebrow rose at the childish rebuttal.

"You just spent all day with me, I figure you'd want a break all things considered."

"No!" she denied vehemently. "I can never get tired of hanging out with my totally adorbs brother!"

Makoto deadpanned.

"Don't say that again."

"Ehhhhh!?" Kotoko looked genuinely surprised. "Why not?"

"Just…" he gave up. "Never mind. Go to sleep, alright?"

"Okay."

…

…

…

"Mako-nii…?"

A sigh.

"Yes, Koto-chan? What is it?"

…

"Goodnight…"

Makoto blinked. That single word was laced with so much desperation it surprised him. Though, in retrospect, it wasn't abnormal given her situation. She probably never had anyone to say that to. At least, no one lacking an ulterior motive.

"Goodnight, Koto-chan." Makoto responded softly. "Sleep well."

Kotoko curled up at that, warmth enveloping her. She felt so _happy._

Today had been a good day.

**The Next Day:**

Makoto rose with a jump. Clutching at his chest he felt his heart rate continue to skyrocket. His usual remedy was just out of reach, but where there's a will there's a way.

He grasped at the flask hidden just under his bed and took a swig.

"Shit…" he wiped his mouth. "I didn't even dream of anything _too _horrible, for once. Why the hell did my body react so poorly?"

The Luckster clambered out of bed, reaching for the sink in his bathroom. Letting the water run, he continued to splash water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up.

"My instincts flaring up like that means that something undeniably integral must have slipped my mind. What could it be?" Makoto muttered to himself. "What am I forgetting-?"

"Ne, Mako-nii…?"

Makoto shook his head and turned back to the little bundle curled up on her bed. Kotoko stretched with a yawn and cocked her head to the side cutely.

"Are you ok…?"

He considered the question. Was he okay? No. Should she know that?

"Yes, I'm fine Koto-chan. Sorry if I woke you."

The girl shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Mm, mm. There's no need to apologize, I wanted to be up when you were!"

Makoto raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh? Why's that?"

It couldn't have been for class as she had been given an indefinite reprieve in light of everything that happened to her. Breakfast, maybe?

Nope.

"So, I can meet all your friends, of course!"

He sweat-dropped.

"Oh dear."

* * *

"… and this is my newly adopted sister, Kotoko. She'll be staying with me for the foreseeable future." He bowed and she immediately followed suit. "Please watch over her whenever I'm not around."

An elbow to his stomach. "though such a thing will never happen, of course." and he 'fixed' the introduction.

The classroom was silent.

Makoto began to sweat.

When he approached Kizakura to ask if he could give a quick announcement to the class, he was given permission. But perhaps he should have waited to do it in a more… private setting.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhh!?" Hina exclaimed, rather loudly. "How come your sibling gets to live with you on campus, but ours can't? That's not fair."

"Speak for yourself." Leon scoffed. "Not all of us here want to associate ourselves with our relatives, on such a consistent basis. I almost pity him."

Makoto sweat dropped. _'You and me both, Kuwata-kun.'_

"Eh, well there is a reason actually." The Luckster admitted. "Though, I'm not allowed to speak on it. It's confidential, between a select few people. Sorry."

_That _caused a stir in the classroom. Students previously not interested in the turn of events, such as Byakuya and Kyoko, narrowed their eyes in intrigue.

"Anyway," Makoto smiled roguishly. "I just wanted to bring this to your guys' attention on the off chance you see her walking around the school without me. That's all. Thank you for listening-!"

"Hey, is this class 78?"

Makoto felt his blood freeze.

"Yeah. You're the new students, right? Got your enrollment finalized?"

How could he have forgotten _them!?_

"Yep! Took us a while though. Apparently processing two students at once doesn't speed things up any. Ugh. What a _bore."_

One girl nodded, the other stepped forward.

"Ne, what's your name?"

That's when Makoto finally saw _her._

"I'm Junko Enoshima. It's nice to meet ya!"

The devil smiled back.

* * *

**A/N: **And that's a wrap! :D Big things'll happen next time. Despair has come. Get ready;p. Also keep up with the support; the amount of reviews definitely helped me to write faster 3.

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Doomqwer: **It's okay man xD not much happened. Just temporary loss of internet:). Yes, I plan to. She was one of the worst used characters in canon, imo. Also, yeah. I've always felt the worst for Kotoko of the kids, so I chose her to focus on. The others will, eventually, appear though!

**Xrangel: **Thank you!:)

**Fortitude501: **Ayy ;D. Well, I was gonna go with your route but then figured the whole process might get too long and drawn out. Why not just say it's luck and go with that ;D. I found your review funny as ever though;p.

**AcausalTrilby: **Damn. Thanks man. I really, really appreciated that kind feedback. It made me smile like crazy:D. I plan on Makoto keeping it to himself for a good while;p. Hope you enjoyed!

**Survivor Naegi: **Omg your summations are so hilarious XD. I appreciate your humor greatly lol. As for the harem, took a bit of a backseat this chapter. Expect it back next time ;D

**TellThemNaegi: **Omg senpai noticed me 3 ;D lol jk. Thanks for the well-constructed review though man, I really appreciate it. :) Yeah I went into this fic not expecting any response or for me to enjoy writing it as much as I do xD. I have ideas, we'll see how it goes!

**Camcario: **Who knows ;D. I think something is brewing too. And lol that pun. xD

**Fortitude501: **I was planning on having that at some point actually! Just not yet; you'll see. :p


	6. The Storm

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Danganronpa, Makoto would have got more screen time in the later series':p

* * *

**Chapter 5 – The Storm**

"I'm Junko Enoshima. It's nice to meet ya!"

While it isn't something often talked about, modern-day society largely dictates how certain people become perceived. How _events_ are perceived. Their perspectives are skewed by the appearances of others. No matter who or _what _is the topic in question, people hold a distinct image in their mind, for how someone is meant to look.

The devil was no exception.

Though to be fair, Makoto reasoned that very few people would jump to the devil looking like a teenage girl. Let alone a model of this calibre.

His breathing was getting heavier as realization set in. He could feel his pupils dilating as the girl in front of him stepped closer. The Luckster became hyper aware of the environment around him. The entire class watched as the fashionista rested her forehead against his, completely in control of the situation.

The devil smiled back.

He jumped backwards and caught his breath.

"Ne, you okay there…? It looked as if you saw a ghost."

Out of the corner of his eyes he analyzed the expressions adorning the others in the room. Most just looked confused, probably on account of the girl inadvertently blocking his face from the rest of them. An unexpected save. He could work with that.

"Ah… yeah." He forced out. "Sorry. You looked like someone I used to know. I apologize for the overreaction."

Mukuro watched the by-play without any real expression adorning her face. Junko much the same. He saw the glint in her eye though and internally grimaced.

"I see."

She shrugged and walked past him, her sister in-tow.

Gripping Kotoko's hand in his own, he mumbled out an excuse that he had to go take a call and fled the classroom.

Junko watched it transpire with nary a word out her mouth as she sat down.

'_He doesn't trust me, does he…?' _

Just like that, Makoto's worst nightmare came true, within seconds of meeting her.

She smiled once more.

'_Interesting.'_

* * *

Makoto didn't stop moving until he reached his room. He practically tore the door open and ran inside. Kotoko hesitantly closed it behind them. She watched as her guardian threw himself on his bed, looking dead to the world.

"Mako-nii…?"

There was no response.

She walked up to him slowly before poking his cheek.

"Makoto…? Are you okay…?"

The young man hesitated in answering. Sighing, he flipped himself up, so he was now staring at the ceiling.

"I…" he hesitated to answer. "No. I'm not alright, Koto-chan."

Kotoko frowned at the answer.

"You know, adults are supposed to say that things will be alright, even if it's not true. They always have to me, anyway." She admonished. "You're not very good at this, are you Koto-nii?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. Damn those adults for saying that before they…

The alcoholic ran a hand down his face.

"No, you're right. Sorry Koto-chan." He chuckled; his mouth dry. "Everything's going to be alright. I was just a little… unprepared is all. It caught me by surprise. It was my mistake, but I won't make it again."

The girl felt lost.

"Surprised? At what?"

Makoto looked her in the eyes. "That I made it."

It was true. Until that moment, he felt as if he was walking around in a dream. A long-lasting hallucination that he'd wake up from soon and realize it was all for naught. Ironically enough, the appearance of the despair sisters kicked him into high gear. The realization that this chance to fix everything was for real caught him off guard.

It was stupid, but he couldn't help it.

"What do you mean 'that you made it…?'"

Kotoko pouted.

"Mouuuuuuu stop talking in riddles nii-chan. This isn't fair!"

Makoto looked at her with a soft smile on his face. Placing his hand on the top of her head he ruffled her hair. She blushed hard, much to his amusement.

"Sorry Koto-chan. I'm fine now. Thank you for worrying about me so much, it was very sweet."

She couldn't formulate any words at the moment. The petting he was putting her through made her feel so happy she couldn't think straight. Taking her hand, she placed it on top of his in an attempt to ensure he wouldn't move it.

His expression turned fond as he continued tousling her hair. He felt a lot more at peace now, and she did it even without the knowledge that she had.

'_Thanks, Kotoko…'_

She really was a special kid.

* * *

"Are you sure you feel up to walking right now, Koto-nii? We can always wait until dinner to get some food-!"

A loud rumbling cut her off.

"… what? No, ha-ha that was nothing! I'm a big girl I can wait a couple hours, no problem-!"

Thunder sounded across the room.

"I… I think I can-!"

A sonic boom.

"… Nii-chan, I'm hungry."

Makoto chuckled at the strange behaviour the girl exhibited before pushing himself out of bed. Truth be told, he felt far from a hundred percent now, but he could at least get himself to the cafeteria. There was no sense in staying in, moping all day.

"Alright, let's go get some food. I was beginning to feel hungry, anyway."

Throwing on a hoodie, he led his sister outside the room and into the busying hallways of the dorms.

The cafeteria was relatively subdued compared to the overwhelmingly loud hallways that preceded it. The room which usually bustled with activity was almost entirely empty on account of it now being later in the afternoon. Classes were currently going on. Not that he particularly cared.

Grabbing a plate of some form of casserole, (after helping to dish some up for his sister), he headed towards one of the back tables to eat. Kotoko smiled at him as she began shoveling food into her mouth. Apparently she lacked table manners. Surprising given how good at acting the girl was. Though, perhaps this just proved that she had no trouble in letting down her guard around him.

"Naegi-kun! Hi there!"

The appearance of a few others proved it as the girl suddenly began using her utensils in a far more subdued manner. He almost couldn't believe the shift.

"Ah, hey guys." Makoto nodded. "Class done early or something?"

The time was currently 3:12 in the afternoon, meaning they must have been let out a good twenty minutes before the norm.

"Nah." Chihiro smiled. "Our teacher never woke up, so we just decided to leave. Well, Togami-san headed out first and then the rest of us followed when we realized nothing would get done if we just sat there."

"I see…"

Makoto sweat-dropped at that. How the hell had such a prestigious school hired such an apathetic instructor? While he could respect the alcohol, at least don't let it interfere with your work! Sloppy, truly.

"Well, you're welcome to join us if you'd like." He patted his sister on the head, much to the girl's internal happiness. "We're just having some leftovers. That Ultimate Cook sure is something else."

From the distance a yell of "Ultimate Chef" was heard but went ignored. It was probably just his imagination. He really needed to get more sleep.

"Sure!" Sayaka's bubbly personality shined through. "We'd love to."

Celeste and Chihiro both agreed with the sentiment and joined the idol in the lunch line. Granted, it was less a line, and more just those three by themselves, but still. Kotoko stared at them with narrowed eyes.

"Ne, Koto-nii…?"

"Hm?"

She pouted.

"Who are those three and what is your relationship with them?"

Makoto coughed as he had accidentally swallowed food at the same time the question was asked. He looked at her incredulously.

"Wha-what do you mean relationship? Those are my friends."

"Hmmmm…" she remained unconvinced. "Then why are they all girls? Don't you have any male friends?"

Makoto sweated at the stare as he did his best to come up with an excuse for why his friends were all girls. (Or, at the very least, _looked _like girls.) Still, Kotoko was nothing if not determined.

"Well!?"

"Uh, ah, you see…"

"We're back!... Kotoko-chan?" Sayaka blinked. "Why are you glaring at Naegi-kun like that?"

Saved by the bell.

"Ah, sorry I had just taken a bite of her food and she got angry at me for it." He suddenly stood up. "I'll go get her some more!"

The three newcomers stared as the boy seemingly teleported back over to the food. It didn't look like the girl lost any of her food since they last saw the plate. Confusion set in.

Kotoko's glare softened as she turned away with a pout.

'_Baka Onii-chan.'_

**Thirty Minutes Later:**

"That food was amazing Mako-nii!" Kotoko smiled brightly. It dimmed suddenly. "I really didn't like how those girls were hogging all your attention though."

Makoto sighed. "I have no idea what image of me you have in your head right now Kotoko, but please remove it as soon as you can."

"Hmmmm…" she pouted. "you're a player aren't you nii-chan? I mean you're a kind, good-looking guy so I guess I could understand that, but still! Don't play with girl's hearts like that. Or mine for that matter."

'_Did she just say that she wasn't a girl…?'_

Judging by her expression her words hadn't caught up to her yet. Nevermind. Best not to push it.

"No, I'm not a player Kotoko. I promise." Pulling out the key from his pocket he unlocked his dorm room. "I just happen to have multiple friends who are girls. It's purely coincidence, I promise you."

*Stare*

Makoto began sweating.

"Maa, maa, there's no need to look at me so harshly." He placated. "How about let's play some games for a while? I brought my old Playsystem with me so-"

"REALLY!? YOU'RE THE BEST MAKO-NII!"

A dust cloud later and she disappeared into his room.

Makoto chuckled. What a funny kid.

The Ultimate was about to follow her when-

"Oh! Makoto Naegi, right…? I heard from the others that was your name. Figured we could try our introduction again after what happened earlier."

He froze. Almost robotically, the young man turned away and chugged a shot from his flask as he closed the door behind him. Locking it to ensure that Kotoko didn't come out during this, he turned back to take in the girl in front of him.

'_I guess I'm gonna have another thing to apologize for.'_

His nerves sufficiently steeled; he raised an eyebrow.

"What exactly do you want, Enoshima-san…?"

The fashionista walked up to him, an obviously fronted swagger to her step, as she ended less than a foot away. Grabbing the back of his head she pulled him so that their foreheads were less than an inch apart.

"You hate me. Don't you."

Makoto stared blankly back.

"I have no idea what you're referring to."

Junko grinned.

"Yes, you would_ think_ that, wouldn't you? We've never met before today, to my knowledge. Yet I can see it clear as day…" she somehow brought their faces closer. "You hate me. No, that's not right. You _despise _me. Yet I have no idea why."

The Luckster narrowed his eyes.

"As I said, I have no idea what you're referring to. I'd appreciate some space though, Enoshima-san."

His request was denied. Junko's grin only widened further.

"You know something. Don't you. I don't know what you know, or how much you know, but I can be fairly certain you know something about me I never intended others to know. Just like I now know you enjoy Vodka, judging by the whiter-fluid-like smell permeating from your lips."

There was silence for a moment. Then she suddenly stepped back.

"Well, whatever." The Fashionista brushed some hair over her shoulder. "It's not my problem, I suppose. You could just be a rabid fan."

A smile was sent his way that caused the tiniest shiver to run down his neck. She noticed. It grew.

"Or not. Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you Makoto-kun! I'm sure we'll become fast friends!"

She turned on a heel.

"Ja ne!"

Makoto stood still as he tried to process what just happened. No matter the angle he approached it from it led him to the same conclusion.

'_She was in control of the situation from the moment she appeared. Worse yet, she already suspects me of knowing things I shouldn't.'_

It was a worse-case scenario.

She got him.

"Dammit."

* * *

**A/N: **That ending was fun to write :D. Wasn't exactly my intention at first but tbh I wrote out a lot of later chapters and I'm struggling hard to get there XD. I can't just post them without context though… it's rough. I am terribly sorry for not updating for like 6 freaking months though. That's inexcusable. But hey, the Corona virus is making me write a lot so hopefully new update sooner rather than later :D.


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